


Love on the Line

by ELH_IrishHeartOnFire



Category: Game Grumps, Ninja Sex Party (Band), Starbomb (Band)
Genre: Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Biting, Blindfolds, Deepthroating, Dom/sub, F/M, Fluff and Smut, Light Bondage, Lube, Martymachlia, Multi, Multiple Partners, Multiple Relationships, Oral Sex, Orgasm Delay/Denial, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Polyamory, Polygrumps, Rimming, Rough Sex, Spanking, Threesome - F/F/M, Threesome - F/M/M, Tipsy/drunk sex, Voyeurism
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-14
Updated: 2016-04-16
Packaged: 2018-05-26 14:09:00
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 47
Words: 52,288
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6242434
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ELH_IrishHeartOnFire/pseuds/ELH_IrishHeartOnFire
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Looking for something new in your life, you pick up and move out to California. Your life before had been hard and boring and kind of sad. You land a job with the Game Grumps and they bring a level of excitement to your life you’ve never known before. They awaken appetites inside you that you never knew you had. Are you insatiable enough to tear through all of them before the hindrance of feelings set in?</p><p>“Arin: Who the hell is tryin’ to call me?<br/>Dan: I am<br/>Arin: …<br/>Dan: Pick up. It’s love on the line.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Introduction

**Author's Note:**

> This is not a One-shot series. This is a full Polygrumps story written in the first person as a Female Reader x Everyone. I’ll give no name to you besides nickname you’ll get in Ch. 3 or pet-names, because I feel like putting “Y/N” in the writing kind of jars you out of the story. I’ll also put no physical descriptions (like hair/eye/skin color or body types), because everyone is different. Because if you’re reading this story, I want you to feel like you’re really in it.  
> Also, I am very new at writing Polygrumps/Youtuber fanfics so please be gentle on me. That means you, Tumblr! ;) I hope you enjoy!  
> PS- This introductory section is skippable, if you so choose, you can just move on to Ch. 2. This is just a sort of “How you got to where you are” part before the real story begins. Sorry if it sounds stupid. lol

What was I to do? My life was in shambles. Married and divorced by 25, shitty 9 to 5 job and nothing going the way I wanted.

I needed a change. And from my humble position in rock-bottom, there was no where to go but up.

I packed up my half of the furniture, called some distant Realtor, quit my job and headed to California. I had faith about my prospects in any place other than where I’d been. I settled in a small but cute apartment in Northridge, just Northwest of Los Angeles, and started my job hunt. L.A. was a little more than a stone’s throw away, at nearly an hour’s worth of commute, but it seemed to have a variety of different positions available. I eagerly hoped for something that would interest me, maybe even leave me with extra jingle in my pocket after paying my bills and time to work on the novel I’d dreamed of writing my whole life.

Within a week of unpacking, I had an interview as a clerical secretary. Not exactly an exciting sounding job, but it was for a Youtube channel so I thought it had potential. I love Youtube and had spent much of my free-time watching and laughing along with a ton of channels. As I set up a date and time for my interview via Skype, I wondered who I’d be working with, if it went well.

And it seemed to have gone great, at least to me. I’d dressed professionally and set up my living room to look extra polished. The man interviewing me was named Brent. He was nice enough, though I got a bit nervous when he mentioned he was recording the interview to be reviewed by my potential co-workers. Once I relaxed though, we had a few laughs and things went alright.

He said he’d let me know and that was that.

I kept up the job search for only two more days before I’d gotten the call I was waiting for. Brent asked me to lunch to discuss terms and meet the people I’d be working with. I was over the moon. He seemed pleased with my enthusiasm and laughingly told me that I could dress more casually. That they were all pretty laid back. 

That’s how I came to be outside a sushi restaurant in Little Tokyo, wearing a light sunflower-patterned dress and strappy sandals with my hair down. Taking a deep breath and about to be changed forever.


	2. Lunch

I could hardly believe my luck at finding a good job so quickly after moving to L.A. I thought maybe I hadn’t been crazy to leave my old life behind for some grand new adventure. I only hope today went well and I was assured an interesting way to pass my work week. I took a deep, calming breath and entered the sushi restaurant. The smiling Japanese hostess greeted me.

“I’m here to attend a meeting,” I told her and gave her my name. She nodded and led me into a private dining room towards the back. I tugged at the edge of my sunflower dress, nervously. The Brent guy I’d interviewed with had said casual, but I was wondering if the strappy sandals and loose hair around my shoulders were really the best choice. As we entered the room, I was still looking down at my footwear before glancing up at the group assembled before me.

I felt my jaw drop open.

Sitting around a large table, I looked into eight familiar faces. Brent, of course, and then the rest… It was the Game Grumps. The. Actual. Game Grumps. Arin, Suzy, Dan, Barry, Kevin, Ross and his wife Holly. They grinned at me, all of them amused by my obvious surprise. Brent stood and gestured to an empty chair.

“We’re so happy you could join us.” He told me. I swallowed and gave myself a small shake. I returned their smiles and moved to sit.

“Thank you, I’m glad to be here.” I replied.

My chair was between Brent and Dan. My breath caught a little in my throat when Dan pulled it out for me.

“Thank you,” I said again, blushing, turning to him as I was seated and pulled my chair in. He gifted me with a dazzlingly bright grin.

“You’re welcome!” He returned, enthusiastically.

The waitress appeared then. Everyone had drinks in front of them, and I ordered one quickly, before studying the menu. I settled on something before the waitress had gone all way around the table so that I was ready by the time she got back to me. I noticed that Brent hadn’t ordered anything. The waitress left and speedily returned with my soda.

“By your reaction, I can tell you already know everyone. So I’ll skip the introductions.” Brent said and opened a briefcase that was beside his chair. He presented me with a manilla folder. “Down to business.” He intoned. The group around me broke off into their own conversations, but I had a distinct feeling that most of them were listening closely. “Everyone here has seen your interview and has agreed that you’re the right person for the job. You understand what all your duties will be?” He asked and I nodded, beginning to have a strange feeling. Brent opened the folder and placed his hand on the first sheet of paper inside.

“Then our first priority is this Non-Disclosure Agreement. In order for us to continue, you have to sign it. Right now. This ensures that you will not discuss any details about your job, the Grumps, the affiliate channels, or the personal lives of anyone including the Grumps or their guests without my express permission. If you won’t sign it, there will be no need for us to continue any further.”

I stared at Brent, his expression was grave. I should have expected something like this, because I would be working with some renowned faces. However, I knew that my new job was supposed to be strictly behind-the-scenes. I was not supposed to be publicly connected to these people in any way. Suddenly, I knew instinctively that whatever I would learn working with the people around me, some of it was very secret. Dark and secret, never to be exposed.

Should I let that bother me? Was this the path that I wanted my new life to take? This was surely a wonderful opportunity for me. The pay, benefits, schedule were all to my liking. And undoubtedly, I would have a lot of fun working with the Game Grumps. I might even get to meet other Youtubers. At present, I couldn’t see any real drawbacks.

My mind was made up in the second it took for me to think all of this while I looked at Brent’s face.

“Do you have a pen?” I asked politely, and he smiled at me, producing one from his briefcase.

I signed the document with a flourish, since I noticed that several of the others had turned to watch. They grinned at each other when I had finished, obviously noting my bravado. I felt my smile growing too. I wanted these people to trust me, I realized suddenly, and I had made a step in the right direction.

Brent took the NDA and pen, returned them to his briefcase and stood from his seat. “Honestly, that’s all I needed to be here for. Everything else in the folder is run-of-the-mill hiring paperwork. You can take it home and fill it out, then bring it to the office on your first day. Get to know everyone, and good luck.” He said and left.

I took another deep breath, jarred a bit at Brent’s sudden departure. There was a light touch on my shoulder. I turned to see Dan smiling at me again.

“So, you like sushi?” He asked. He voice was gentle, much lower than it had been before.

I nodded, returning his smile. “Of course, I love Asian cuisine.”

Dan’s sweet smile stretched into a grin. “I have a weird feeling that you’re going to fit in really well with us.”

“Well, I certainly hope so!” I said, laughing. “I’m a big fan, after all.”

The food arrived and I began to chat with everyone. They were all just as funny and nice as they were on their channels, in Ross’ case even nicer.

Once the food was gone, and the afternoon wore on a bit, the conversation finally lulled a little.

“Well, thanks for joining us for lunch.” Suzy said, reaching across Brent’s empty chair to pat my hand in a friendly way. “We’ve got to get going, but we’ll see you on Monday?” I agreed, and we parted ways. Each of them gave me a brief hug as they left.

That strange feeling that I’d had before signing the NDA began to creep back as I made my way home. I was having trouble identifying what it was until later in the evening when I was getting ready to lie down, with the Game Grumps Ocarina of Time series playing on my TV. I realized that all throughout lunch, several of the Grumps had given me a look that hadn’t registered at the time. Hungry looks that had nothing to do with sushi. As I got into bed, I tried to determine whether those looks made me scared or excited. I drifted off to sleep, thinking that it was too early to tell.

  



	3. Surprise

My first week with the Game Grumps had me falling into a familiar pattern. On my first day, I met Vernon and Brian, who had both been busy during my getting-to-know-you lunch. They were just as nice as the rest, though a bit more distant. Apparently, I’d been hired to take the weight of menial tasks and paperwork off of Arin, Vernon and Suzy. With me around, they were able to focus more on recording, scheduling and planning.

I was now known exclusively as Sunny, my new nickname, because Arin had made a joke about my consistently upbeat personality and the sunflower dress I’d worn on the day I’d met them. We all worked very well together.

I even had my own desk in the Grump-Space and everything. On my breaks, I could work on my novel while listening to Arin and Dan in the other room, laughing or raging while they recorded, or the soft chuckles and snatches of whistling coming from Kevin and Barry while they edited. So far the job was an absolute dream come true.

It was at the beginning of my second week where things turned in an unexpected direction.

At the end of my day, which was relatively late, because I had been swamped sorting out the massive amounts of fan mail the Grumps received, I accidentally spilled my coffee on my office chair and the floor as I got up. Sighing heavily, I trudged toward the storage room to get the mop and some paper towels, not wanting to leave a mess for the cleaning lady. Arin and Dan were cramming in some extra recording before Dan had to leave to promote Ninja Sex Party’s new album. I could hear Dan laughing as Arin raged at the latest Mario Maker levels. I smiled to myself as I opened the storage room door and flicked on the light. Then I stopped dead at the sight before me.

Ross and Barry were wound together in a tight embrace, breaking apart as the realization of their exposure caught them.

“Sunny!” Barry exclaimed, his shock mirroring my own. I could feel my eyes growing as large as dinner plates as I took in their disheveled state. Barry’s belt was unbuckled and his jean’s button undone. His face was flushed, looking both overexcited and embarrassed. Ross, on the other hand, had a newly mischievous grin playing at his slightly swollen looking lips. His hair was rumpled and his t-shirt looked stretched out. The silence seemed to span out for an eternity, then Barry made a slow move, as though to reach for me.

I whirled around and flew out of the office, forgetting the coffee spill and my purse behind me at my desk. I ended up in the tiny courtyard behind the office building, dimly lit since the other businesses around it had already closed.

Once outside, I sucked in huge breaths of the humid night air and leaned against the exterior wall of the building, trying to sort out what I had just witnessed.

I knew I had to go back inside, I obviously couldn’t leave without my car keys. But my brain pushed against the idea for the time being, choosing instead to replay the sight of Ross and Barry locked together. I saw it over and over again in my mind; unable to think of anything else. I felt my skin prickling with the heat of mortification, and something other than that… desire.

Among the image of Barry and Ross, my imagination began to implant a new figure standing between the two men. Myself. Barry’s hands in my hair as he stood before me, kissing the valley between my neck and shoulder. Ross was touching me from behind, reaching around to grab at my chest with one hand as he undid my jeans with the other. I got lost in this new scene for what seemed like a very long time.

There was a small sound at the courtyard’s gate and I nearly jumped out of my skin. I recognized Dan, his wild hair floofing around his head in a curly halo. He approached me slowly, tucking his hands deep into the front pockets of his jeans. His face was a mixture of wariness and concern.

“Are you okay, Sunny?” He asked gently, stopping a few feet away.

I blinked at him, still disconcerted at what my mind had conjured about the storage room. I was lost for words.

“Do you- do they- I mean- ?” I tried several times, failing to phrase my questions in each instance.

Dan sighed and moved to lean against the wall beside me while still keeping his distance. He began to explain, in a calm and simple way, so as not to freak me out further. “I know what just happened, yes. So does everyone else. No, we don’t care.” He took a deep breath and continued, “We don’t care because we all do it. Well, most of us. Kevin, Vernon and Brent don’t. Brian used to but he doesn’t anymore. None of them really mind either way. We’re all pretty open people.”

He stared at me. I could tell, even in the low light, that he was searching my face for some kind of reaction.

“So you’re all poly… polyamorous?” I asked, trying to sort out this new information. I felt a sense of relief that the secret, or one of them, that had piqued my intuition back at the restaurant had been exposed. No wonder they had an NDA.

Dan nodded at me. “I’m sorry you discovered it the way you did. I bet you’re pretty weirded out. This stuff doesn’t happen around the office normally. Barry and Ross probably just got carried away. I understand if you want to discontinue working with us, but we all really like having you around. I promise nothing like this will ever happen again, and we’d never ask you to get involved.” He said, heavily.

“Wait, why not?” I asked and then paused, surprising myself with my response.

  



	4. Courtyard

Dan stared at me in avid astonishment. He had stepped away from the wall, hands now free from his pockets and was facing me fully. His eyebrows were high on his forehead and his mouth hanging open slightly. I stared back, trying to sort out the reasoning behind my outburst. Seeing Barry and Ross in that storage room had definitely been embarrassing, but I couldn’t deny the strong undercurrent of lust that was now surging through me like electricity.

This was so unlike me. I’d only ever been with one guy, and certainly not any women. My life has been plain and simple up to this point. Vanilla. Did I want it to stay that way?

I had known that moving to California and agreeing to work with the Grumps would be an adventure, but just how adventurous did I want to get?

What the hell would it even be like to have sex with ONE new guy? Let alone more than one, or even a girl or two? Did they have orgies? What would I be signing myself up for?

I’d already jumped on board with keeping these peoples’ secrets. Did I want to be apart of them too? Wrapped in them?

I stopped short there, because the thought of being wrapped in their secrets just made me think of being wrapped in arms, legs and other things. I felt myself flush and more heat rose inside of me.

Something deep within me wanted me to commit. My body wanted this adventure. So, what the hell! What could be so wrong about a little meaningless sex? Or maybe, my mind added with mounting excitement, maybe a lot of meaningless sex. After all, if it turned out I didn’t want it, I could always change my mind, like Brian.

“You- want to be included?” Dan asked, still surprised. He took a step toward me. “You want to be apart of- of what we do?”

I sucked in a shaky breath, but I was gaining confidence in my decision all the time. I, too, stepped away from the wall, shoulders squared and looked up into his face, which had turned serious and shadowed as darkness fell heavier every moment.

“Well, in all honesty,” I said, voice low and slightly breathless. “I’ve never done anything like it before. I wouldn’t really know where to begin.”

Dan inched closer to me. “I could always show you.” He murmured, sounding huskier with each word. “It’s better to start off slow, right?”

We were so very close. Did I really want this? I could smell his leather jacket and the musky cologne he was wearing. The electricity coursing through me spiked again, and I had to fight to keep still. This was the tipping point. No going back. I could feel my heart ratchet up in speed and my breath catch before I whispered, “Show me.”

His long arms were around me in an instant, lifting me to meet his height. My legs went around him automatically as our lips met and I knew this was going to be good. His tongue swept over my bottom lip and then he nipped at it lightly. I think I must have gasped because I felt the graze of his stubbly cheek as he smiled at my reaction. One of my hands fisted under his jacket at the shoulder blade, clutching his shirt and probably wrinkling it severely. My other arm was slung around his neck, both to keep him close and to steady myself.

His kissing was already hot and needy, but with every passing moment I felt the fervor increase. One of his big hands was in my hair, pulling ever-so-slightly at the nape of my neck and the other was at the small of my back, clutching me to him. His tongue against mine moved rhythmically, he pulled back a little, to catch his breath I think, but I caught his bottom lip between my teeth this time.

His breath hitched and then he pushed me against the wall of the office building, kissing me again, even more feverishly. I gave a tiny groan against his mouth as his pelvis ground into mine. He pulled his lips away from mine again, panting, just as I was. His gaze was heavy with want, but he set me down, gently and leaned down to give me a much slower, softer kiss. I felt it all the way down to my toes.

Dan stepped away, still breathing hard. “My god, babygirl, you are dangerous.” 

I grinned at him. “I guess that wasn’t exactly ‘slow,’” I said, slightly mocking. He chuckled.

“I’m thinking not.” He agreed. “We should probably go back inside.” I nodded. Then I stepped toward him slowly. I straightened his jacket and shirt, and brushed some of his curly locks away from his face. He helped adjust my clothes and hair too, murmuring into my ear, “It’s actually my jeans that need to be fixed.” Then he tugged at the in-seem of his pants to make his obvious erection more comfortable. I giggled and he smile down at me. I rose on tiptoe to give him a peck on the lips, and then we walked back into the building.

The office space was empty, Ross and Barry had apparently gone home, but a light was still on in the recording room.

“I need to talk to Arin,” Dan said, and looked at me with a kind of dazed expression. “Are you going home?” I nodded and he smiled at me, still looking a bit out of sorts. “See you tomorrow, then, Sunny Girl.” He kissed my cheek and then left me to get my things together.

The coffee around my desk and my chair had been cleaned up. Barry had left a handwritten note on my desk. 

“I am so sorry. I hope we can talk about this. -Barry.” Beneath it, Ross left his own addition. “I’m not. -R.” There was a winky-face beside his initial. I bit my lip to keep from cracking up. I gathered up my belongings and went home.


	5. Storage

I was jolted awake by my alarm the next morning. I fumbled to turn it off, disoriented. I had been steeped in the throes of passion while I dreamed; completion snatched away by the untimely beep-beep-beeping. I grumbled to myself and dragged my feet to the kitchen to make some coffee. On the way, I checked the messages on my cell phone, still bleary-eyed.

I had several texts awaiting my perusal. Two were from Dan. The first had been sent just after I’d fallen asleep. “Can’t get you out of my head. Even after a trip to masturbation station. You really are dangerous.” I chuckled at that. I had felt the same way before I’d gone to bed.

The second message had come shortly after the first and said simply, “Tomorrow is going to be an interesting day.”

Well, bully for me, I thought. I like interesting.

I finished setting up the coffee maker and continued to check the texts as I shuffled to the bathroom for a shower.

The third message I’d received was from earlier this morning and had come from Barry. “Dan told me you two talked. I’m glad you understand. I’m still going to make it up to you.” I pondered on that for a moment while the shower heated up. I was definitely curious on what Barry’s idea of making up was.

The fourth and final message was Ross’. “Don’t have breakfast” was all it said. Oh-kay, then.

I showered as quickly as I could but took extra care to make sure I shaved my legs and other, various, bits of myself. Can’t be too careful.

I sipped my hot coffee as I chose my outfit for the day. Matching set of bra and panties in a nice shade of aquamarine, a silk turquoise blouse over top, tucked into a black circle skirt with white polkadots. I styled my hair and slapped on some make-up. Black ballerina flats and a pair of onyx stud earrings and I felt as good as gold.

I had to admit, after my commute to the Grump Space, I felt just a little deflated from my buoyant confidence that I’d had leaving the house. That changed in an instant when I saw that my desk had a vase brimming with sunflowers on it. I beamed as I sat down and plucked the card from its holder. “Sunny- To brighten your day. -Bear.” Holy smokes, how sweet was Barry? I turned in my chair to see his desk was empty. Kevin was across the room, headphones on, already editing some footage that Dan and Arin had recorded the night before. I crumpled up an old sheet of notes I had and threw it at his head. He turned around to see the offender but smiled when he saw it was me.

“Oh, hi, Sunny!”

“Morning, Kevin. Any idea where Barry is?”

He shrugged. “He went out to run some errands. But hey, he and Ross dropped off some bagels and doughnuts and stuff earlier. They’re in the kitchen.”

“Thanks,” I said as he turned back to his work. I grinned to myself some more. A girl could get used to this.

I settled back into my usual routine after my breakfast, which was just as sweet as I expected it would be. I lost a little of my charge as a few hours went by. I was still happy as a clam, but not quite so hopped up on expectation.

Arin and Suzy showed up in the office as the morning turned into afternoon, smiling at me and greeting me in an especially warm way but not saying much more than that. Dan, Brian and Vernon arrived not long after. Dan grinned at me like a Cheshire cat, but didn’t diverge from any normal conversation.

I began to wonder if the day really would be interesting, and where the duo I’d discovered last night were spending their day.

I heard Arin saying to Dan, during one of their breaks between recordings, that Barry and Ross had been helping out Holly, who had an issue with equipment recording her own show. Mystery solved. 

I felt the last of my electricity leave me. It was still a great day, but it would obviously be a normal one.

Or so I thought.

Near the end of the day, I was finishing up the review on some financial documents for Arin. They seemed to be in order, and just needed to be filed. Of course, the filing cabinets for these particular documents were in the storage room. I smiled, again remembering the previous evening, but the storage room was empty when I entered it.

It was tidy enough inside, for some reason I had expected to see evidence of the tryst. I carried the folders of documents to the back of the room where the filing cabinets were and began putting them away. Just as I had slipped the last folder into a drawer, there was a soft click behind me and the light went out.

I spun around, almost falling over and accidentally kicking the front of the cabinet as I turned. “Ouch! Dammit, who did that?” I said, angry through my pain and the unease of being plunged into darkness. I felt a hand on my hip pull me forward. “Jesus!” I hissed, jumping a little.

“It’s okay, calm down.” A voice whispered through the black, just inches from my ear.

“Barry?” I asked, surprised. The spark of electric excitement flickered in my chest. He placed a hand on my other hip. “What are you doing?” I asked. He pulled me closer to him. I felt his trimmed beard against my cheek.

He laughed lightly in the darkness and said quietly, “We want to make it up to you.”

“We?” I asked curiously and jumped again as I felt a second pair of hands grab my waist from behind. The snicker I heard told me instantly who it was. “Goddammit Ross! Don’t scare me like that.” He chuckled again.

I felt a sudden flood of nervous doubt. Being there with the two of them, the beginnings of my previous nights’ fantasy coming true, I felt a little overwhelmed. “The flowers and breakfast did a good job of making it up to me, you know.” I mumbled, sounding anxious to my own ears.

Barry kissed me on the lips once, so lightly I almost thought I imagined it. I could feel him smiling as he whispered, “Oh, I don’t think that’s enough.”


	6. Dark

I began to make a halfhearted protest, but Barry’s lips met mine once more. His hands left my hips to gently clasp my face. For a vague moment, I wondered how he could see me in the total darkness but the thought quickly dissipated. He was being far too distracting.

Barry’s kiss was soft, slow, and sweet. As nice as his gesture this morning with the flowers; nicer even. I felt my heart skip a beat or two as I slipped deeply into his saccharine embrace.

I was so thoroughly engrossed in the way Barry’s lips moved against mine, that I had totally forgot about Ross standing behind me. Until his hands began to move, that is. One brushed all of my hair over my right shoulder while the other gently untucked my blouse from my skirt. He kissed my left ear and trailed his mouth down my neck until I’d begun to shiver.

I was having a difficult time dividing my attention between the two of them. Barry was kissing me with such alacrity that I felt my knees getting weak. One of my hands rested lightly on his chest and I felt the heat of his skin through his button-down flannel shirt.

My other hand wandered backward through the darkness to find Ross, to clutch at him. He had a hand up the back of my blouse and was running his thumb, lazily, up and down my spine. He was still peppering my neck, shoulder and ear with his own kisses.

My hand finally found Ross' leg and my hand fisted at his jeans. His lips broke away from my neck and he gave that low chuckle once more.

"Barry?" He intoned quietly, he was just as close to my ear as Barry had been before, and I could hear just how husky he sounded.

Barry had stopped kissing me as well. I took a shuddering breath, feeling even weaker. This was the best apology I'd ever gotten, that was for damn sure. That same electric spark I'd been feeling was now humming all over my skin. I dropped both my arms, enjoying the buzz and thinking it was all over.

Ross' hands caught me by my elbows and held on.

"What-?" I began to question starting to pull away but was silenced and stilled by Barry kissing me again more urgently than before.

I felt my skirt suddenly slide down my legs to the floor and I gasped against Barry's lips. I hadn't even noticed Ross unzip it. Barry's hands were on me then. His thumbs grazed the top of my hips near the bones and slid to my back. He kissed across my cheek to my ear as he shifted and one of his hands came back around to my belly and traced a finger around my belly button.

Ross began to slowly guide the three of us backwards until we were up against the wall beside the filing cabinets, all the while Barry whispered in my ear. "I'm so glad you stayed. I want to show my appreciation, but you're going to have to be very quiet, okay?" I nodded, feeling his beard rub across my cheek again. 

Ross had run his hands down from my elbows and turned his palms up so that I could lace my fingers with his. I could feel his bulge against my ass. I pressed back against him gently and he groaned softly in my other ear. Then he caught the lobe gently between his teeth. 

I gasped again, much louder this time. Not only was Ross nibbling at my ear, but Barry had slipped a hand down into my panties.

"Ah-ah," Ross chided in that husky voice, releasing my ear. "you have to be much more quiet than that." 

But it was so difficult. One of the hardest things I’d ever attempted. And I was failing. Barry was touching me in a way that had me shaking again in seconds. My breath was coming so quickly that I was starting to pant. A soft whimper or two escaped me against my will.

Ross was snickering next to my ear again, "I don't think she can do it, Bear." He said, his Aussie accent sounding thicker than I’d ever heard it.

"You should help her," Barry responded, his own voice a low growl, sounding even softer than before. The nickname ‘Bear’ seemed pretty apt at the moment. "I'm hungry." He grumbled, in an offhand way.

Ross shifted behind me and released one of my hands, pulling my attention from Barry. He turned my head and kissed me for the first time. His kisses had more pressure than Barry’s, but his technique was just as good despite being less sweet and more intense.

Barry's response to Ross finally hit home as I felt the removal of his hand from my sex and my panties being pushed to the side. I felt my anticipation rise to a mountain peak as I felt Barry lowering himself to his knees.

I squirmed in a heated expectation. Ross' arms snaked around my torso, firmly holding me in place and continuing to kiss me ferociously. I felt Barry force my legs further apart and he leaned forward to take the first swipe of his soft, warm tongue across my clit.

I stiffened all over and would have probably shrieked if Ross' mouth hadn't been clamped on mine. Barry was the one chuckling now. He pulled my right leg up and placed it on his shoulder and then wrapped his hands around my thighs from underneath and licked again.

I moaned and leaned against Ross more heavily, trying to allow Barry better access.

The laps of his tongue alternated from long, slow strokes to quick, firm penetrations. It was driving me crazy. Every time his tongue touched my clit, I wanted to scream. 

Ross' arms no longer encircled me as he continued kissing me fervently to keep me quiet. One hand clutched my waist to keep me against him, while the other hand found its way under my bra.

The various ministrations at the same time were putting my body into overdrive and I knew I couldn't last much longer.

I clutched at Ross’ jeans again with one hand while the other snaked its way into Barry's hair.

I think Barry could tell how close I was by the desperate way I lifted my hips to meet his mouth more completely.

He licked me again and then settled his mouth around my clit and hummed.

The resulting explosion of the building electricity within me felt like the drop of an atom bomb. My back arched away from Ross and he finally released my mouth, listening to the scream of pleasure that was wracked from my body. It cracked around the three of us like white lightning.  



	7. Interesting

Barry wiped his mouth with a hand, looking at me through heavy-lidded eyes. He watched my breathing slowly return to normal as Ross held up my jellylike body.

Barry got to his feet and began setting me to rights. By the time I felt Ross release me, all my garments seemed to be back in their proper places. Ross spun me around and leaned down to give me a warm but fleeting kiss. Then I felt him brush past me, and I squinted as he opened the door. I saw Ross’ mischievous grin before he flicked the light on and closed the door behind him.

I felt much more exposed in the light, even though all my clothes were on. Barry’s eyes were on mine, and I could feel myself flushing under his scrutiny. What we had just done finally clicked into my clouded brain.

“Oh my God,” I whispered and covered my face with my hands.

Barry had his arms around me in an instant. “Don’t, Sunny. Don’t be embarrassed.”

My head was in the crook of his neck. “I’ve never done anything like that before.”

“Did you like it?” Barry asked, gently. I could feel his hand smoothing the hair at the crown of my head. I nodded slowly. “Then there’s nothing to be embarrassed about. That was… really hot.”

I lifted my head to look in his blue-green eyes. “Really?” He gave me a small smile.

“Oh, yeah.”

I leaned forward and kissed him. He returned it sweetly. I broke away after a minute. “I have to finish up.” I said and he released me. I took a deep breath and left the storage room. I made a beeline for the bathroom and stared at myself in the mirror once I’d closed the door.

I had a wild look in my eyes and my hair was still a bit tousled. I cleaned myself and made myself look fully presentable again. My blouse was slightly wrinkled in the back but there was nothing to be done about it. Once I was done, I exited the bathroom and tried to make my way to my desk as normally as possible. Kevin had left for the day and so had Vernon. I could hear Arin and Suzy laughing in the recording room. Dan was sitting at my desk and there was no sign of Barry or Ross.

Dan spun around in my chair and gave me an appraising look. He raised his scarred eyebrow. I immediately took the offensive.

“What?”

Dan grinned at me. “Having a nice day?”

“It’s fine.” I responded, trying to sound offhand. I reached past him to grab my purse from under the desk. I froze as Dan inhaled deeply.

“Are you wearing a different perfume? You smell different.” He said, his tone mocking.

I straightened, slinging my purse over my shoulder. My blush returned. “No.”

“Can I tell you a secret?” He said, his face feigned seriousness.

“Oh-kay.”

He dropped his voice into a false whisper. “The Grump Space has security cameras. Arin can access them from any computer he wants.”

I stiffened.

“So, do you feel made up to?” He said, smiling again.

“Maybe.” I said, simply. His amused grin was starting to affect me. “Okay, yes.”

“That was quite a show. I knew today would be interesting.” He said and started to laugh. I couldn’t help myself, I did too.

Dan got out of my chair and towered above me. “Well, you be safe driving home. You looked a little disoriented there for a few minutes.” He touched my face and walked away. I let out a whoosh of breath.

I dug through my purse and found my phone. Only half an hour had passed since I’d gotten up to file those papers. Stunned, I wondered how that was possible. It felt like I’d been in the storage room for hours. I shook myself and went home. During the whole drive, I replayed the new storage room episode and mulled over the fact that Dan, Arin and probably Suzy had witnessed the whole thing. I went to bed that night, exhausted, slightly embarrassed, and extremely pleased with myself for some reason.

  


Things settled down over the next few days. I didn’t have anymore storage room encounters. Or courtyard encounters, for that matter. The knowing looks from everyone in the office stopped making me flush and they could finally have a whole conversation with me without slipping in a reference to it.

Their teasing didn’t really bother me, it was kind of funny. After I’d gotten over my initial self-consciousness, I felt sort of empowered. I wanted some meaningless sexual encounters, and I got my wish, at least in part.

I was looking forward to tonight, Dan and Brian’s last night in town before leaving to promote “Under the Covers.” The whole crew was going out to celebrate the album’s success so far. We were all going to get really dressed up, have dinner and then we were going out to a popular club to do some “un-ironic partying” as Brian laughingly put it. I had all my clothes in a hanging bag and was going over to Dan and Barry’s to get ready after work, since driving all the way back home would be a huge waste of time. Barry even invited me to crash there if I ended up drinking at the club.

As the end of the work day drew near, everyone in the Grump Space became severely unproductive. We were all due for a night out, since we’d been working so hard to prepare for NSP’s temporary departure. Finally, Brent, who was in the office for the day, gave up on trying to grind a little more work out of us and let us all go early.


	8. Club

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! Thanks for reading my story! I'm glad it's gotten so many hits just after the last day! I really appreciate it! I'm loving how it's going so far!  
> In honor of the amazing Danny Sexbang's birthday today (HAPPY BIRTHDAY, YOU SEXY MOTHERFUCKER!), I'll be posting at least 2 new chapters, but I'm aiming for 3.  
> I hope you guys continue to like it, and if you have a certain scenario/event you'd like to see in the future, don't be afraid to comment! Thanks again! XO

I drove behind Barry and Dan, getting more and more excited about the evening’s prospects. We arrived at their house and they showed me around. Their place was nice, for a double bachelor pad. I suspected Suzy and Holly had hands in decorating the place, at least in part. The common areas were well kept and Dan mentioned they had a maid in once a week to keep up with the cleaning in those rooms.

I got a tour of both the guy’s bedrooms and their bathrooms. Dan had a pile of clothes in a chair in the corner of his room and some jackets on his bed. His dresser was strewn with notebooks and papers that looked like sheet music. Several bags sat next to his bed all packed and ready for his trip. He went to take a shower while Barry showed me his room.

Barry’s room was noticeably cleaner than Dan’s. He had a computer system that was much smaller than his office set up, his screen-saver was an animated Sans from Undertale. He had several notebooks on his dresser as well, however, his were all neatly stacked except for one. A few papers were sticking out of it and he hastily snatched the book up and put it on the bottom of the stack when he thought I was inspecting a framed Deadpool poster on the wall above his bed.

Barry kindly offered his room and bathroom for my use in getting ready. I thanked him warmly. He grabbed some clothes from his closet and headed back across the hall. I grabbed my things from where I’d left them on the couch when I‘d come in, and then went back to Barry’s room and closed the door.

I took a quick shower, just giving my body a quick scrub so I wouldn’t have to spend time blow-drying my hair. The whole time I was in Barry’s shower, I pondered over the notebook he’d stuffed away. I really didn’t want to pry in his personal things but my curiosity was burning furiously. I tamped it down, and continued getting ready.

By the time I was done, I was extremely proud of my appearance. My hair was curled, in a half up-do. My make-up was all night-time chic and I hoped that, overall, I was dressed to impress. I had a bracelet, necklace, and stud earrings that sparkled with faux-diamonds. My little black dress hugged my body like a second skin, the lace detailing making it seem rather elegant despite it’s relative shortness. Silver peep-toe pumps completed my ensemble. I grabbed my little black clutch with a silver chain and left Barry’s room to meet the guys, who were talking in the living room.

“Are you guys ready to hit the road?” I said excitedly, striding out to meet them.

I was greeted with a stunned silence.

“Uh, guys?” I asked, waving my hands to get their attention. They both shook themselves.

“Er- yea. Holy shit, Sunny. You clean up really fucking well.” Dan said in open-mouthed admiration.

Barry simply nodded, his eyes glued to my legs.

“Thanks,” I responded, smiling brilliantly. The gratification of their dreamy stares made me feel like I was glowing. “Is the Uber here?” I asked.

Barry nodded again.

“Let’s get going then!” I enthused, and hooked each of their elbows with my arms, propelling them through the door.

  


Dinner was an enjoyable affair. The restaurant was swanky and the food was excellent. Everyone had dressed to the nines and the other restaurant patrons looked over at our massive group, all laughing and carrying on, with looks of admiration, reproach and downright jealousy. I received many more compliments on my appearance, the funniest of which was Arin claiming he’d literally kill to fit in my dress like I did and asked if he could borrow it.

We took our time through dinner, so by the time we made it to the club it was already getting late and most of us were starting to get tipsy. Apparently, we’d come on a retro night and remixed 80’s music pumped loudly through speakers. The strangely sweet smell of alcohol and sweat hung in the air as a sea of people swayed and gyrated on the dance floor.

The Grumps group broke up a bit at this point, a few headed over to the tables that had been reserved for our party and ordered more drinks. A couple more wound their way through the crowd to find more friends, who had been invited to celebrate but hadn’t made it to dinner, and a small clutch of us made a beeline for the dance floor.

Of the dancing set was Arin, Suzy, Kevin, Dan and myself. Kevin had brought a date as well, and while the six of us mostly danced together, it often left me paired off with Dan. In the ebb and flow of the crowd, we lost track of the others after a bit. I admit I was fairly buzzed on the Cosmopolitans I’d imbibed and Dan’s closeness was affecting me strongly. I could smell his musky cologne as I had the night in the courtyard. He had his hand on the small of my back pulling me close as we were surrounded by the beats of Lionel Richie’s “All Night Long” and dozens of swaying bodies.

Dan looked down at me, eyes just slightly glazed, and grinned. His face was so much closer to mine than normal, thanks to the added height of my heels. He leaned toward me a bit so that he could talk in my ear. “You know, you’re the sexiest fucking thing in this whole place, right?” He made a deliberate move with his leg, which was between both of mine, and ground lightly against my crotch. I raised an amused eyebrow at him, and knocked his knee away gently since he was making my dress ride up a little too much. I did an elegant kind of spin so that my back and ass were flush with his chest and groin. I moved my hips in time with music, Dan’s hands on my waist. I thought I heard him curse.

Suzy and Arin appeared in front of us then, both looked flushed and excited. Suzy grabbed my hand and pulled me from Dan.

“Come on guys, everyone’s getting together to toast to NSP!” She shouted over her shoulder to us, as she towed me toward our tables.

I looked back as she tugged me along and saw Arin laughing and Dan calling, “Suzy, you’re such a cockblock!”


	9. Ride

There were at least twenty of us in all, crammed around our tables. Our faces were aglow with the dancing light from several bottles of champagne, sparklers stuck in their tops, that had been brought to us. When the sparklers went out and the champagne was poured, the DJ played NSP’s cover of “Jump.” A collective cheer of exultation went up from our group and was echoed from the rest of the club. Dan and Brian looked simultaneously pleased, abashed and humbled.

We all congregated at the table for a while and I was introduced to some new faces. I met friends, dates, and more Youtubers- most excitingly of all, the legendary Markiplier. Mark was one of the only people who turned down a glass of champagne, he was in the middle of telling me a funny story when Dan reappeared.

“Sorry to interrupt, Mark, but Sunny and I have a dance to finish!” He said, smiling but looking a little hot under the collar about something. I yelled an apology to Mark as Dan dragged me back toward the dance floor.

“That was a little rude,” I said as he pulled me against him and began to sway to “Is this Love?” by Whitesnake. His cheek was pressed to my temple, and his soft laugh was clear enough, so close to my ear.

“I’m sorry,” he said, earnestly. “I just kind of want you to myself tonight.”

I sighed and smiled, even though he couldn’t see it. “I guess I’ll give you a pass, since it is your night.” He laughed again.

We continued to move to the music, Dan’s bold lustfulness from earlier seemed to shift from a high flame to a slow burn. I felt the heat in my own body rise to match his as he held me close. The music changed, another rock ballad, REO Speedwagon’s “Keep on Lovin’ You.” Dan made a sound in his throat that I almost didn’t catch.

“Dan?” I asked, my voice sounding strange against the noise of piano and power guitar. He pulled away and looked at me. I felt my chest tighten a little, alcohol-fueled confidence and natural hesitance warring against each other. “Take me home?”

He studied my face for a long moment.

“Abso-fucking-lutely.”

He pulled me back through the crowd, the pressure of his hand on mine was determined but gentle. We went the long way around the walls of the club, avoiding the side of the room where all of our friends were gathered, and stepped outside. The night air felt pleasantly cool on my overly warm skin. He led me over to a car I didn’t recognize.

“Dan Avidan?” The driver asked through the rolled down window. Dan answered in the affirmative and opened the rear driver-side door for me.

“When did you get an Uber?” I questioned before climbing in and sliding to the far side. Dan slid in after me. 

“Before I pulled you onto the dance floor, actually.” He said, grinning at me sideways, and then confirmed his address to the driver.

“That confident, huh?” I asked raising my eyebrows at him while the driver pulled away from the curb. He looked at me, both proud and sheepish.

“No, I think you read my mind while we were dancing. You took the words right out of my mouth.” He said, and my heart skipped a beat excitedly at the downright hungry look in his eyes.

“Alright,” I said simply, and settled into my seat as the driver sped along the road.

Dan fired off some quick text messages on his iphone and then reached over to hold my hand when he was done. We didn’t speak. In the dark interior of the car, his fingers twined around mine and the soft sweep of his thumb against the back of my hand was creating a strong tension in me that I could hardly wrap my mind around.

The drive seemed to last a lifetime. When the driver eventually pulled in front of the house, we practically flew from the vehicle as Dan threw a hasty thank-you back to him. We could hear him laughing as Dan fumbled his keys to unlock the front door. He finally accomplished the task and I yanked him inside.

The door slammed behind us, Dan tugged me back and somehow spun me at the same time before pushing me against it. His mouth met mine in the soft light from the single lamp that was on in the living room. My hands clutched at his chest as our tongues moved together. His slid one of his hands between my legs and after bypassing my thin, damp panties, slipped a finger directly inside me. I broke away from his kiss and moaned.

His hot breath was on my ear as he admitted, in a low, eager voice, “I’ve been wanting to touch you from the moment you stepped out of Barry’s room.”

I groaned again in response and he added a second finger. “Wh-what if Barry comes home?” I panted as he pumped his hand slowly. I began to unbuckle his belt, hands shaking.

“It’s taken care of.” He removed his hand for just a moment so he could strip off his jacket. The absence of his fingers made me squirm in dissatisfaction, but once his arms were bare, his hand returned to my sex. I finally got the damned belt undone and popped open the button on his jeans impatiently.

Dan removed his hand again to halt mine from unzipping his pants. “In a hurry?” He asked, brushing his lips along my jaw.

“Don’t act like you aren’t.” I retorted, still breathless.

“Tell me what you want.” He said, a teasing, playful smile curling the sides of his mouth. I looked up into his dark chocolate brown eyes, almost in disbelief. They were still slightly glazed, but I could tell the only intoxication he was feeling now was of a lustful sort.

“You know what I want.” I pouted.

He smiled even wider before leaning down to give me a long, lingering kiss. An ache began to grow within me. I wanted him so badly, I felt as though I would be blown away by the force of it. “Tell me what you want,” he said again, against my lips.


	10. Want

I growled in frustration but Dan only looked more amused.

“Dan,” I said through gritted teeth, “if you don’t fuck me right now, I’m locking myself in Barry’s bedroom.” My eyes flashed dangerously. “Maybe he’ll be more obliging when he gets home.”

I wanted the smile to drain away from his face, instead it notched up a degree brighter and looked even more wicked.

“Oh, I’ll oblige.” He said, darkly.

He kissed me ferociously, lifting me right up out of my shoes and pulling my legs around his waist at the same time. He gripped the back of my neck with one hand and dug into his back pocket with the other. A condom appeared and he broke off his kiss for only the briefest moment that it took for him to rip the package open with his teeth.

He continued to kiss me passionately as I heard his jeans drop to the floor with the softest of thumps and he pulled his boxers down and roll the condom on, one handed. He took his hand from my neck to push my dress further up so that it bunched above my hips.

Dan pulled his mouth from mine to give me his most devious look yet. He very deliberately placed his hands and the tops of my thighs and I watched in fascination as he hooked his fingers around either side of my g-string. He gave a short, sudden tug and both sides snapped in his hands and he threw my panties over his shoulder. Holy shit, I was in trouble.

Lifting my hips, Dan pushed into me in one fluid motion.

My shriek of surprise and pleasure caught in my throat and I nearly choked. Dan paused for another very short moment to assess if I was alright and then began to move in and out of me, slowly and deeply. My back pressed into the wood of his front door so hard, I heard it creak with each of his thrusts.

“Oh my fucking God,” I hissed as he plunged into me again. And again. His eyes seemed to glow in the low light. He wound a hand into my hair at the nape of my neck. He used the other to curl under my arm onto my shoulder to assist in giving him the purchase necessary to bury himself into me until our pelvises met. I squeezed my eyes shut, concentrating on not letting myself scream out as he hit my g-spot over and over. My nails dug into the skin of his back beneath his shirt, as I tried to hold onto my sanity.

Dan tilted my head to the side and nipped the place where my neck met the shoulder. The walls of my vagina seemed to tighten around him in an involuntary response and he gave a long, low groan.

His pace quickened and I was no longer able to keep my moans and whimpers locked inside of me. After several minutes, he gave a light tug at my hair during a particularly deep thrust and I gasped his name. 

His control finally snapped when the sound left my lips. He began to fuck me at such a hard, fast pace that I felt everything going hazy.

“Please,” I begged, “Oh, god, please.”

“Do it,” he growled, transferring his hands to my hips as he continued slamming into me at a jackhammer’s pace. “Come all over my dick.”

And just like that I was undone. I was coming with a blinding shock-wave that made me see white behind my closed eyelids. I clamped down on Dan with such force that he almost immediately exploded with his own release, filling the condom. The pulsing of his cock inside me sent a second, shorter orgasm rippling through my body. My head slumped forward onto his shoulder as I desperately tried to pull air into my lungs. 

Dan stood there for few moments, unmoving, his whole body rigid. His hands were still clutched on my hips, fingers digging into my flesh.

“Dan?” I prompted, quietly, against his neck but he didn’t reply. He pulled out of me gently, and helped lower me back to the ground. He pulled up his boxers and strode into his room. My knees locked and I slid down the door to thud onto the floor. I rested my head against the door-frame and continued to fight to breathe normally.

Had I done something wrong? 

Surely not, I thought as I listened to the thrum of the house’s air conditioner and feeling suddenly chilly. I mean, I had never had sex like that before. I had never felt a need to have someone so fiercely nor experienced an orgasm so earth-shattering. Just as I was beginning to really worry that I had committed some sort of faux-pas, Dan returned.

He had something in his hand. He approached, looking at me in a very peculiar way that I couldn’t place, and slowly dropped to his knees in front of me. I opened my mouth to ask if he was alright, but before I could get the words out, he bent over with his free hand on the ground and kissed me.

At first, it was just a touch of lips, soft but reserved as well. Then he kissed me again and again. My lips parted to release a sigh and his mimicked mine automatically. There was still some hesitance in him, but between one of his staccato kisses, his eyes met mine and locked there. Lips met again but, suddenly, he deepened the kiss, moving his mouth and tongue in a fashion so disarming, I wasn’t sure what to do.

I jumped a little as he brought what I now knew as a warm, slightly damp wash cloth between my legs. He continued to kiss me as he cleaned me of what was quickly becoming a sticky mess on my skin. After a rather thorough cleansing, he pulled away from me and smiled.

“Thanks,” I said shyly, not knowing what to make of his sudden, out of character, silence.

“No, no. Thank you.” He said, breaking it, and I breathed a sigh of relief. He helped me to my feet and picked up our various clothing items. “I turned the shower on if you wanna take one. Do you- have extra panties?” He asked holding up my destroyed pair. I nodded. “I also grabbed a shirt and pants for you to sleep in, if you want.”

“Thanks, Dan. That’s really nice of you.” I said, blessing the low light of the room so it would be hard to make out the awkward flush beginning to rise in my cheeks. We both started to move toward his bedroom.

“You don’t have to sleep on the couch either, if you don’t want to.” He said, in a way that failed to sound offhand.

I grabbed him by the elbow as we reached his doorway. “Tell me what you want.” I said, looking up at his dark, uncertain eyes.


	11. Notebook

I felt strange before I even opened my eyes the next the morning. I did open them though, only to get hit with a face-full of sunshine. I squinted, blinked and waited for my eyes to adjust so that I could figure out where the strange feeling was coming from. For a moment, I didn’t recognize my surroundings. Slowly, the memory of coming home with Dan filtered in. After that was the recollection of what had happened post-coitus.

Dan had looked down at me in his doorway, his expression unreadable. My hand, holding his elbow, felt unwelcome for half a moment before his face softened and he asked, “Will you sleep with me?”

I had agreed and, after retrieving a spare pair of panties from my bags in Barry’s room, went to take a shower in Dan’s bathroom. Afterward, I had changed into the t-shirt and pajama pants that he had lent me. The pants were far too big on me and I had to roll them several times on my hips just to be able to walk out of the bathroom.

Then I had crawled into bed beside Dan. He was still awake, though I had expected him to be otherwise since I’d taken my time in the shower. When I laid my head on the pillow beside his, he’d turned to look at me.

“I’m not going to lie to you,” he said, looking at me sleepily. “I am never going to forget that. That was some of the best sex I’ve ever had.”

“Me too,” I agreed, exhaustion overtaking me quickly. He put a hand on my waist and kissed my forehead. Then we’d both fallen asleep.

Now, I sat up in Dan’s bed, empty but for me. Dan’s bags were gone, so I guessed he had left for his promotion tour. That strange feeling I’d had upon waking lingered, but had trouble pinpointing what it was. I got out of bed and went into the living room. I found my black clutch on the couch, though I didn’t remember putting it there. I didn’t even remember bringing it back from the club. I opened it and pulled out my cell phone. Sure enough there was a text from Dan.

“Didn’t want to wake you up. Last night was great. Help yourself to breakfast and coffee before you go.”

I smiled to myself and sent a quick response. “Thank you, be safe on your trip. XO.”

I busied myself with making coffee and putting a bagel in the toaster. I stood, floundering in the kitchen for a moment, unsure of what to do. I walked back into the hallway and knocked on Barry’s door. I hadn’t heard him come back last night, though I don’t think I’d have heard a dump truck driving through a nitroglycerin plant. 

No response came from behind the closed door so I turned knob and cracked it open. Barry’s bed was still made, as it had been before we’d left for the club. I entered the room and headed for my clothes bag. I changed out of Dan’s pajamas and put on the jeans I’d worn to work yesterday and a fresh t-shirt. I turned to head back across the hall when my eyes fell across the notebooks on Barry’s dresser.

A strong urge to go and investigate the bottom-most notebook welled inside me. Just as before, I really didn’t want to pry. I sighed and carried Dan’s clothes back across the hall to his room and put them in his hamper. Then I returned to the kitchen for breakfast. The entire time I was eating and taking little, scalding sips of my coffee, my mind was consumed with that notebook.

It was probably nothing very interesting. I knew Barry liked music, and often walked around the Grump Space while strumming his ukulele. Maybe it was sheet music, like what Dan had in his room. I also knew that Barry admired Arin and Ross’ animation skills and liked to draw silly cartoons during the Monday morning Grump meetings. Perhaps the notebooks were full of an in-progress comic.

By the time my bagel was gone and my coffee cup empty, I had nothing left to do but go home. I washed my dishes and headed back into Barry’s room for my bags. My eyes were instantly drawn by the notebooks again. I picked up my bags and turned to leave. But the temptation was too great. I felt I had to know, even if I would feel guilty about it later. With slightly shaking hands, I pulled the bottom notebook out from the others and flipped it open.

I had been half right on my second supposition. The book had a ton of drawings, but they weren’t comics. They were sketches of the Grumps. Most of them were in the portrait style. There was Arin mid-rage at a TV screen, Dan laughing over a fallen chair, Ross at his animation table, Suzy putting on make-up. There were dozens and they were all very well done. I wondered why Barry would be bothered about hiding this from me, until I saw the loose sheets of paper at the very back of the book.

These were of me. At my desk, concentrating hard at my computer screen. Arms clutching over my torso, doubled over in laughter at the joke of some unseen person. Leaning my hip against a desk as I chatted to someone with a coffee cup in my hands.

I noticed a significant distinction of my portraits over those of the other Grumps. The others had been done in a regular graphite pencil, but mine were in full color. Barry had perfected the shine of light on my hair and managed to capture the exact shade of my eyes. I felt a lump in my throat as I continued to look through them.

Then I came to the very last paper in the book. This one was obviously borne of imagination rather than taken from real life. It was me lying across Barry’s bed, in a tiny pair of shorts and a t-shirt I recognized as his. My hair was tousled as if from sex, and I was fast asleep. 

Suddenly, I was stuffing the papers back in the notebook and sliding it back to the bottom of the stack. I flew from Barry’s room, grabbing my phone and purse and bolting for the front door. It opened before I could reach it.


	12. Guests

Barry stood in the front doorway surprised but smiling. “Good morning, Sunny. How are y-”

“I’m sorry, Bear. I’ve got to go.” I said, briskly, as I brushed past him and made a beeline for my car.

“Are you okay?” He called, clearly startled as I unlocked my doors and threw my bags inside. I got in myself and yelled back before slamming my door and starting the engine, “I’m fine, I’ve just gotta go!” I pulled out of the driveway and headed in the direction of home.

I was spooked. I was grateful I’d gotten the hell out of dodge before Barry had actually caught me with those sketches, because that was a conversation I just could not handle at the moment. The pictures, especially the last one, I’d seen were not the work of someone dwelling on the simple concept of lust; they had conveyed a much more complicated tapestry of emotions- longing, admiration, love. The lump that had arisen in my throat felt like it had grown spikes and lodged itself into place.

When I arrived home, I shoved all thoughts of Barry away by throwing myself into scrubbing my apartment from top to bottom. I ignored the chimes of texts coming in on my phone. By five o’clock, not a spec of dust or grime existed in my entire living space. My whole body ached with the effort I’d put into the undertaking. I had the sudden inspiration that what I really needed then, was a hot bubble bath, a good book and an alcoholic beverage.

But, of course, I hadn’t been in the bath for five minutes when my doorbell rang. Annoyed, I set my book down, wrapped myself in a towel and padded toward my front door. I spied through the peep hole and was utterly perplexed by who I saw standing on my doormat.

I unlocked the door and pulled it open. “Ross? Holly?” I inquired, “What are you guys doing here?”

“Barry said you left his house like a bat out of hell. He got worried, and no one’s been able to reach you for hours.” Holly said, taking in my outfit, or lack thereof. “Are you okay, what have you been doing?”

I opened the door wider and gestured for them to come inside, closing it behind them. “I only left Barry’s so quickly because I had things to take care of. And I’ve been cleaning, I guess I didn’t hear my phone.” I lied.

Ross looked at me quizzically. “Then why are you in nothing but a towel?”

“Because I was cleaning in it, obviously.” I said sarcastically, and then started to laugh. Holly joined in too at the look of confusion on Ross’ face. “No,” I said through my giggles. “I decided to take a bubble bath afterward.”

“Oh,” said Ross, his face clearing, “that makes sense then.” Holly and I laughed even harder at that.

“Well, you guys are welcome to stay for a while.” I said wiping tears of mirth from my eyes. “Just let me go get dressed.”

“Or you could not,” Ross said, his voice dipping back into his native Aussie accent slightly. “Honestly, I prefer you this way.”

“Ross!” Holly scolded, still grinning. “Leave the girl alone.”

I blushed as Ross actually turned to his wife and practically whined, “Aw, come on, Holly. We haven’t had any fun in ages.”

I hadn’t really taken into consideration that, when Dan had told me about Ross’ polyamorous leanings, Holly might take part as well. I began to feel anxious and just the tiniest bit uneasy. I’d never had sexual contact with a female of any kind, and I had no idea if I’d even be into that. Then again, Ross and Holly might have a better idea than a bubble bath to take my mind off of things.

While I was thinking this, Holly was looking me over appraisingly. Ross was looking at her, so obviously waiting for permission that I immediately knew who really wore the pants in this relationship.

Finally, Holly said, “It’s up to her, I guess.” Ross turned to me.

I wrung my hands together. “I’ve never done anything with a girl.” I admitted, blush searing my cheeks.

Holly smiled at me sweetly, “Oh, that’s alright, Sunny. I prefer to take a less active role.” She turned and moved to sit on my couch. She crossed her ankles on my coffee table and folded her arms across her chest. Ross raised an eyebrow at me, the mischievous smile that I had come to know well tilting up the corners of his mouth. I smiled back tentatively. He stepped toward me and then looked to Holly.

“Take her towel off.” Holly said, her eyes were blazing with some unknown feeling. Her voice was suddenly commanding, a great departure from her normal sweetness.

Ross grinned and moved immediately to follow orders. He tugged the corner of the towel that was tucked in over my right breast and let it drop to the floor. He was closer to me now, looking over my naked flesh with a hungry appreciation, but he did not touch me. 

Clearly, this show would be completely under Holly’s discretion. I looked over to her and she, too, was giving me a long once over. Her eyes suddenly flashed to her husband. “Strip.”

There wasn’t a seconds hesitation in him. He was obviously very used to taking direction from her in this fashion. He shucked his shoes, socks, shirt and jeans in record time. I fought to reign in a giggle at Ross’ boxers, which were spangled in shamrocks with the phrase “lucky me” printed around the band. Holly leveled me with a rather stern look.

“Both of you, come kneel over here.” She said, pointing to huge faux-fur rug I had between my coffee table and TV. I felt a flash of uncertainty. I wasn’t used to being commanded to do anything, especially in my own home. 

“Holly, you can’t-” I began to protest.

She cut me off with a snap. “Ross!”

In a flash, I was being spun around and bent forward over the back of my own couch. Ross held me in place with his hand on my back. I clutched the couch and stared up at Holly in reproach.

“This is how Ross and I do things, Sunny.” Holly said, her voice somewhat returning to normal. She looked me over again. “If you wanna do this, you do it our way.”

  



	13. Watch

I knew instinctively that if I agreed to take part in whatever Holly had in mind, that I’d be going down a strange road that I’d never traveled before. The only things I knew about this level of devious sexual behavior was what I’d read about in sleazy romance novels. And though I was fully aware that lately my life was becoming more like those books, I wasn’t sure if my brain had considered all the scenarios available to me. My body was far more invested than my mind was, however. It urged me onward with a heady need and supple compliance.

I dropped my eyes from Holly’s and, blushing, mumbled a quiet, “Okay.”

“Alright then,” Holly said, the snap back in her voice. “Ross, bring her over to the rug.”

Ross’ hand slid down my spine and rested at the small of my back as I stood up. He gently pushed me toward the center of my living room. His hand transferred to mine and as he knelt down on my carpet, he pulled me down with him.

We both looked at Holly then, she was digging in her purse for something. She seemed to find it and looked up, tucking whatever it was underneath her leg and crossed her arms over her chest once again. “Kiss her.”

Ross turned back to me, his light blue eyes pierced into me with an open excitement. He leaned down, lips touching mine with a surprising softness.

“Like you mean it,” I heard Holly say archly. Ross’ arms came around me, pulling us together, my chest pressed against his and my thighs were tickled by the hems of his boxers. His mouth became much more persistent. His tongue probed against mine and I felt his erection growing against my legs. One of his hands wandered down and grabbed my ass, hard. I pulled away from his mouth with a small noise of surprise.

“Sunny,” Holly said and I turned. Her eyes were lusty and determined. “Poor Ross has been worried about you for hours. Show him how grateful you are.” Her eyes flicked to her husband’s boxers and I grasped her meaning immediately.

I broke Ross’ bind on my torso and slid my hands down his slim hip bones and into his waistband. At Holly’s look of approval, I hooked my thumbs at the last moment, and his shamrock-studded shorts came down with one swift tug. His cock sprung free and bobbed up toward me. He was larger than I expected, and for a moment I felt apprehensive. The eagerness on Ross’ face was so plain, though, that I couldn’t help but smirk as I took him in my hand. 

I glanced toward Holly again and she was smirking as well, raising an eyebrow as she waited to see what I would do. The look egged me on, and instead of the hand-job I’d initially planned on, I dropped down to my elbows and wrapped my mouth around his head and shaft.

“Holy fuck!” Ross exclaimed, grabbing onto my shoulders to keep himself from falling backward in surprise. From the corner of my eye, I saw Holly’s smirk morph into a grin and she slipped a hand into her own shorts. I let saliva pool on my tongue for a moment before I started working my way down toward the base of Ross’ dick. He groaned and gripped my shoulders harder as my mouth slid over him, pulling him in and drawing him out. Occasionally, I made little humming sounds that made him hiss and curse.

Holly watched us, silent and smiling, until she noticed that her husband was slowly starting to lose control. “Ross,” she said quietly, continuing to move her hand beneath her shorts. He looked over at her with a pained expression. She pulled out the object she’d hidden beneath her leg and threw it at him with her free hand. He caught it against his chest and looked down at it, trying to concentrate as I continued my ministrations. “Improve on that.” Holly told him in a cryptic and breathless tone.

Ross obviously knew what the hell she was talking about, even if I didn’t. He pushed back on my shoulders gently and withdrew himself from my pouting, swollen lips. I moved to get up from my hands and knees, but Ross stopped me before getting to his feet and stepping around to position himself behind me. I looked to Holly as I heard the crinkle of a foil package. She was breathing deeply, eyes half closed as she watched her husband roll a condom on and place his hands on my hips. She looked so turned on that I felt a sudden thrill of excitement shoot through my body.

Another jolt ran through me as I felt the head of Ross’ cock nudging my ass and then my pussy, which was slick and ready. Ross didn’t move, he was waiting for the word from Holly. She was beginning to pant now, and was evidently enjoying the way I squirmed impatiently. Finally, when I was about to get up and leave in frustration, she whispered, “Now.”

Ross pistoned suddenly, driving himself into me until I felt his hip bones push against my ass. I cried out at the unexpected fullness, and wriggled my hips in a vague attempt to adjust my body to the feel of him inside me. But he didn’t give me the chance, he tightened his grip on my hips before pulling back and thrust again. I bit my lip and a whimper tore from my throat.

“Don’t hurt her,” Holly scolded him, softly. Her breath catching as she watched us. “She’s not as used to you as I am.”

He seemed to take this into consideration, and stilled for a moment before moving more slowly. I gripped the fur of the rug and trained my eyes on Holly. She was watching Ross intently, her hand moved furiously beneath her shorts. Her eyes met mine and she smiled distantly.

I couldn’t focus on her for long, Ross was gradually picking up his pace again. The sensation growing in my belly forced me to squeeze my eyes shut as he pumped his hips into me. The closer I came to completion, the more I began to meet his thrusts, pushing back against him and making us both groan. It was Holly’s quiet sigh of release that brought me over the edge, bringing Ross with me, cursing through clenched teeth.

I slumped forward and pressed my face into the rug with a satisfied huff, effectively pulling Ross from me. He flopped down beside me, grinning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 3/18 Update: I apologize that Ch.14 isn't up today, but it's just not working for me and I want to go back and rewrite it before posting. I'm trying to get at least one chapter up a day. If that doesn't happen, I want you guys to know it's because I want those chapters to at least be decent so you can enjoy them. I hope you understand. Thanks for your support so far. XO. -ELH


	14. Bath

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for your patience, guys. I like this chapter way better now. I thought I posted it last night, but I hadn't realized it got stuck in drafts for some reason. But here it is, and started working on Ch. 15 while I watched my loves rock out at the SXSW Gaming Awards last night and it should be up in a few hours. I hope you all continue to enjoy the story. XO

After we’d all recovered a little, I returned Ross’ smile and decided to break the silence. I said, as sweetly as I could, “Goddammit Ross, I spent all afternoon cleaning my apartment. If you get semen on my rug, I will literally kill you.” Both Holly and Ross burst into laughter and after a moment, so did I. Ross went to go clean himself up in the bathroom and I padded into my bedroom throw some clothes on. 

Once I was dressed, I chatted with Ross and Holly about the previous night’s escapade with Dan. Ross looked particularly interested in my story, smiling at me all the while with his infamous impish grin. Then they had to leave, explaining that they were the ones to check in on me because they had an errand to run in the area.

“Well, I’m glad that you were.” I said, giggling. Holly gave me a kiss on the cheek and walked out to their car while Ross lingered on my doormat.

“We’ll let everyone know that we checked in on you, but you should text Dan and Barry. They were both kind of freaking out.” He said watching me closely. I had flinched at the mention of Barry’s name.

“Okay, I will.” I returned, forcing my voice to sound upbeat and nonchalant. “Thanks, Ross.”

He gave me a swift kiss and followed his wife to the car. I closed my front door and sighed heavily. The thoughts of Barry that I had been pushing away all day began to filter into my brain all over again. I grabbed my phone reluctantly and went to restart my bubble bath. I emptied the tub, and checked my messages while it was refilling.

There was a barrage of missed calls and text alerts. My stomach flipped guiltily as I went through them. I decided that instead of going into detail on anything, I’d just send a mass text to everyone, apologizing for being off the grid and promising not to make anyone worry like that again. I huffed a sigh of relief and closed my eyes as I sank into the bubbly, hot water. 

My text alert went off and my eyes snapped open. I picked my phone back up and read the message from Dan. “I was about to fly back and hunt you down. Don’t scare me like that again, you naughty thing.” I smiled to myself, and responded to him with a a dirty joke. Just as I was sending it, I received another text, this time from Barry.

“You ran out of my house like your ass was on fire. You sure you’re okay?” It said.

“I’m just fine, I’m taking a bubble bath.” I replied.

I leaned my head against the tile of the wall, suddenly consumed in the thoughts I’d been avoiding. Maybe I was acting like an idiot. I shouldn’t be weird around Barry just because I was an asshole and snooped through his personal things. He probably hadn’t wanted me to see those sketches because he didn’t want me to take them out of context. He had, like, twelve other notebooks I hadn’t looked through without permission. There could be dozens of full color sketches of the other Grumps in various real and imaginary scenarios.

“Oh, well, I hope you enjoy it,” Barry text back. I was definitely being stupid. Barry was wonderful and sweet, and I was being totally full of myself thinking he was in love with me. This time I had to make it up to him, even if he didn’t know it.

“I am. Wanna see, Bear?” I sent back with a new sort of conviction sitting on my shoulders.

His response was practically instantaneous. “Dear God, yes.”

I snapped several pictures with my phone; provocative poses with barely-there bubbles covering all my most interesting bits of anatomy and sent them to him. His final text made me feel a little better, “I need to be excused. ;)”

I finished my bath and went to bed, exhausted after my two, nearly back-to-back, sexual encounters. I still felt guilty, and ashamed of myself, but as I slept I formed a plan on how I was going to pay Barry back in full.

  


Sunday morning arrived in California, bright and as sunny as my nickname. I was energized by the idea of what I had in store for my sweet, bearded friend. I was knocking on his door by 10 am, looking very cute and carrying coffee and doughnuts. He answered, bleary-eyed and tousle-haired.

“Sunny? What are you doing here? Is everything okay?” Barry asked, looking concerned in his half-awakened state.

“I thought we could spend some time together.” I said simply, holding up my breakfast offerings. “Have any plans?”

He gave me a sleepy smile, “Yea, actually, I’m hanging out with you.”

I made my way inside and we sat at the small kitchen table. I pushed his coffee over to him and gave him a good once over. He was wearing a pair of red, plaid pajama bottoms and a black Beatles t-shirt. He sipped his coffee slowly and still looked totally out of it.

“I’m sorry I woke you up, Bear. I didn’t think about you sleeping in.” I said, earnestly, picking at a doughnut. It was only a half truth, however. I hadn’t thought about waking him up, but I wasn’t really sorry about it when I got to see him looking so cute.

“Don’t worry about it.” He said, scratching his beard. “I don’t mind. What did you want to do today?”

I tried to looked innocent. “How about we just stay in and watch movies or something?”

He agreed, and we finished our breakfast. I couldn’t help but feel that electric spark inside me beginning to flicker up when I thought about the fact that Barry had no idea about what was coming to him.


	15. Plan

A few hours later, we were on the living room couch, deep in a Marvel movie marathon. I couldn’t resist putting my plan into action any longer. Barry was still in his pajamas, because I had insisted he remained comfortable. He’d thrown a blanket over our laps as we watched the movie because I was wearing shorts and shivering with cold 20 minutes in. We had chatted and made our own Mystery Science Theater-style commentary over the films and laughed at our own silliness, but he had finally got sucked in by the plot and now was my chance.

I scooted over, closing the short gap between us, and rested my head on Barry’s shoulder. He smiled, putting his arm around me, but was still engrossed in the Avengers. I wrapped my arms around his torso, heart hammering excitedly in my chest. I lifted my head slightly, “Bear?” I tried that innocent tone again.

“Hmm?” He looked over to me, distracted.

I moved and planted a soft kiss against his lips, watching his eyes widen in surprise.

When I pulled back, he was staring at me. “What was that for?”

I pressed my lips together but couldn’t help smiling as I leaned in to him again. “Because I wanted to, Bear.”

This time, Barry met my gentle kiss with one of his own. His arm snaked around my waist. The blanket fell away as, in a motion so fluid that it impressed even me, I slid my leg over and was sitting straddled over his lap. I leaned down and kissed his lips, forehead and along his bearded jaw. My hands clenched the front of his t-shirt.

“Sunny, not that I’m complaining,” He began hoarsely, resting his own hands at the small of my back. “But what brought this on?”

I let a small giggle escape me, but said nothing. I finished my circuitous route of kisses along his face and neck before returning to his lips with tiny shift of my hips.

His lips parted beneath mine and I kissed him with more heat. He was still trying to retain his sweet, collected manner as I attacked him, but another hip shift and I felt his body stiffen under my hands for a half-second. His mouth moved against mine with a delicious want. I ran my tongue against his lower lip and felt his hands clutch at my back. He stiffened in a different area of his anatomy this time and a victorious smugness settled inside me. After a few more minutes, I pulled away from his kisses, trying to breath evenly.

“Bedroom?” I inquired, meeting his blue-green eyes. He nodded and seemed to have given up asking about my intentions. I slid from his lap and stood, stalking from the living room to his bedroom without another word. He followed me silently, watching me with a curious intensity from his doorway as I sat at the edge of his bed. I raised an eyebrow at him and deliberately reached across my body with both hands and pulled the hem of my shirt slowly skyward.

His eyes raked my torso and settled on my face again as I threw the shirt to his floor. His expression was set in a way I didn’t recognize and, for just a moment, I felt uneasy, as though he was looking right through me. I popped the button on my shorts and pulled down the zipper, my eyes still locked on his.

“Come help?” I asked, sounding shaky and breathless to my own ears. He didn’t smile and his eyes didn’t leave me as he stepped toward me and dropped to one knee. His hands found the waistband of my shorts, and those hands felt rock-steady as he peeled my shorts down my legs. I felt my heart skip and breath catch.

This was all my idea, my plan, I reminded myself. But the way Barry was looking at me now made me feel as though he may have been reading me better than I’d expected. I moved away from him, scooting further up toward the headboard. He rose from the floor and crawled toward me. My mind flashed to the calculated way he and Ross had cornered me in the storage room a few weeks ago, and I felt suddenly that I may not have the totality of control over this situation that I’d wanted.

Barry was positioned over and around me; his knees framed my thighs, his hands pressed into the mattress, one between my right elbow and my torso and the other near my left shoulder. I ran my fingers up his arms, shifting beneath him a little as he continued his hard, unbroken gaze.

I struggled to find something to say, something that would make me feel confident again. Barry finally tore his eyes from mine as he moved his arms away to pull off his Beatles shirt. When he came back down, he leaned in to pressed his lips against the line between my jaw and neck.

“Bear, I-” I began, the seduction I was attempting sounded weak and afraid. Barry continued his line of kisses across my collarbone. He made that questioning, “Hmm?” sound again but didn’t stop leaving a trail of kisses along my suddenly inflamed skin. Words failed me, I simply ran trembling fingers up his arms and through his chest hair.

He reached beneath me and unclasped my bra, I helped strip it off but resumed touching him hesitantly. His mouth found a nipple. I gasped quietly, finding I’d forgotten how gently he could move his tongue in the time since our last encounter.

Barry lifted his body off of mine, reaching to pull down my panties with a deliberate slowness. His eyes met mine again, asking silently for permission. I gave a jerky nod, and he slid them off, flinging them to the floor and peppering my abdomen and then my hips with more kisses.

I sucked in a breath, his mouth felt as though it were leaving a trail of flames where it touched my skin. When he parted my thighs, I felt a warm haze engulf me, as though everything I’d ever known had gone up in smoke.


	16. Awkward

I found later, as I drifted in an out of consciousness, wearing Barry’s pajamas with my head on his pillow and the blankets bunched around me, that my plan had gone wildly astray. I listened to the sounds of him showering in his en-suite bathroom and cursed under my breath.

His mouth on my sex had been no less intense than it had in the storage room, but lacked the urgency of the way he had tried to pull my orgasm from me that day. Not that he hadn’t accomplished that feat. The way he let his mouth move almost languidly as I cried out, shaking with his head between my legs, beard tickling my thighs, seemed as though he had no qualms in drawing this experience out as long as possible.

As I lay there with my eyes closed, gasping and shivering, he had kissed his way back up my body. I hadn’t even noticed that he had rid himself of his pajamas bottoms and boxers until he had leaned over me gently to pull open his side table drawer and retrieve a condom.

My eyes opened to meet his as he rolled the condom on, and I felt the sudden need to take control again. I pushed him off me and moved to straddle him. His eyes never left my face as I lowered myself onto him. He grunted quietly and wrapped one of his arms around my waist. His other hand rested against my face and neck. His lips touched mine as we moved together.

“Holy shit,” I whispered at the recollection, jarred from my train of thought at the sound of Barry dropping something as he showered.

The way Barry had held my body against his as I rode him, and smiled sweetly as he coaxed a second orgasm from me spoke of something that made me terrified to my very core. The most frightening thing, I remembered as I heard him turn off the water in the bathroom, was the way he had whispered my name, my real name, into my hair when he had reached his own climax.

My intentions in coming over to Barry’s house was to fuck him senseless in repentance for prying into his personal belongings, running away from him, and making him worry by ignoring him and everyone else. That plan had been shattered and I had failed miserably. Barry Kramer had just made love to me. I had let him. I had let him, and I had made love to him right back.

I heard the bathroom door creak and opened my eyes to see him in a different shirt and sweatpants. He was toweling his hair dry and looking back at me. For a minute, neither of us said anything.

“Do you want to keep watching movies?” He asked, looking as uncomfortable as I felt. 

“Sure,” I said, nodding and rising to follow him out of the room. And we did. We spent the rest of the day on the couch, the awkwardness gradually diminishing as time wore on. Soon enough, we were laughing and chatting again. We ordered in some Chinese food for lunch, got bored of the Marvel movies and switched to making fun of bad reality television. We had leftovers with a few beers at dinner-time, telling really stupid jokes and trying to make each other choke on beer foam. He gave me a kiss goodbye when I finally went home around midnight. Neither of us talked about what happened between us. And we both tried to ignore the fact that something was different in the weeks that followed.

  


The Grump Space felt very strange over the next two weeks. Barry and I continued our working relationship normally, and on the surface, our friendship seemed just as it was before, but I thought the other Grumps were beginning to suspect that something had shifted. Ross, in particular, seemed to sense something was afoot. By the time Dan and Brian returned, the relief in the office was almost palpable, as though with everyone around, things would certainly go back to normal.

I began to think that I had only two options. I could face what had happened between me and Barry head-on, or I could distract myself and try to forget all about it. Since I was terrified of the first option, and had so many distractions at my disposal, I chose the latter. After a few days of settling back into the Game Grumps rhythm of things, I approached Suzy on Friday at lunch time.

“Hey, Suze?” I asked. After all the close encounters I’d had since moving to California and starting work with the Grumps, I didn’t really have trouble voicing what I wanted.

“What’s up, Sunny?” She responded, throwing away several empty brown bags and soy sauce packets from the sushi we’d all had. 

“What are you and Arin doing after work?” 

She looked at me, interest sparking in her eyes. “Nothing planned. Why?”

“I was wondering if I could come by and hang out with you guys.” I said, a smile playing at my lips.

“Hang out, huh?” She inquired, returning my smile with an eyebrow quirked up.

“Well, maybe, we’ll get around to hanging out.” I said, making my meaning absolutely plain as I helped her take out the rest of the trash.

“I’ll run it by Arin,” she returned, but looked enthusiastic at the idea.

He obviously approved, because that night I was standing in their kitchen with a water bottle in hand, having my most open and frank discussion to date.

“So, let me get this straight,” Arin said, with a slightly incredulous look. “Not only have you never had a threesome, but you’ve never had any sex outside of the normal realm?”

I shrugged. “Not unless you count what happened a few weeks ago with Ross and Holly.”

“Not really,” Arin said, laughing.

“Okay, well, unless you guys want to play checkers or something, we can fix that.” 


	17. Vanilla

Suzy and Arin had shared a mysterious kind of smile. Suzy took my hand and led me toward their bedroom while Arin trailed behind us.

“I think we can find something more interesting for you than checkers.” He said with his eyebrow cocked and mocking sort of grin on his face.

“Bring it on,” I challenged, my eyes narrowing.

Arin chuckled. “So, no vanilla tonight?” He asked, sounding as though he thought I’d chicken out any second.

I grimaced at his tone while Suzy opened their bedroom door. I stared around me, the whole room was done up in burgundy, black, and white with warm, cherry woods. It was beautiful, but also a little intimidating. I was determined not to let that show. I turned back to Arin, while Suzy held fast to my hand. “I’m a little bored of vanilla. I’m in the mood for something new.” I said, mimicking his expression.

“Well, we can definitely handle that.” Suzy said, and pushed me onto their bed. It was firmer than I’d expected, even through the thick duvet.

I watched as the two of them stepped over to a large wardrobe and after pulling open the doors, began digging through the topmost drawer. I sat on the bed, equal parts excited and apprehensive. As distractions went, I had already left thoughts of Barry far away, tucked away in a back corner of my brain, hidden under a dark sheet. Arin was muttering something to his wife under his breath, and she smirked and nodded.

Suzy turned back to me, a blindfold held delicately in her hand. “Take off your shirt and jeans.” She instructed, her voice was as sweet and enticing as a cupcake with my name written on it. It held a lot of promise in her short command. I did as she told me, doffing my clothes and smiling at her as she watched attentively. Arin came up behind her and took the blindfold out of her hand.

“No need to draw things out, Suze.” He chuckled, husky and dark. He stepped toward me and put the blindfold over my eyes, tying a quick knot behind my head. Devoid of my sight, I sat perfectly still as I heard the sounds of the couple discarding their own clothes.

A hand pushed me back on the mattress, and someone leaned over me silently. Hair tickled my face and I giggled. A mouth met mine, parting my lips with no precursor. No mustache or goatee. It was Suzy, her tongue moved against mine slowly and I felt my stomach flip.

It wasn’t much different than kissing a man, other than technique, and the fact that she tasted like some kind of fruit that I couldn’t put my finger on. My hand came up, hesitantly since I couldn’t see her, and touched her face. I felt her hand rest lightly on my ribcage, just under my bra.

I jumped a little as a second hand, one that was larger and rougher and obviously not Suzy’s, grazed my thigh. Suzy giggled, pulling away from me and saying something to Arin. For a moment, I was confused until I realized she’d spoken Japanese, a language of which I had no knowledge.

“That’s not fair.” I grumbled.

Suzy laughed again and I felt her move away from me. “Aw, Sunny. Life’s not fair. Deal with it.” There was another fleeting touch along my legs, from whom I wasn’t entirely sure. One of them pulled my panties down.

I waited, listening and trying to anticipate what was coming. A noise caught my attention, something that sounded distinctly wet. A bare foot touched each of my ankles, clearly telling me to spread my legs. I sighed and parted my knees slowly. Just as I felt the side of the mattress indent, two slick fingers slid inside me. I gasped, thinking it was a good thing Suzy kept her nails relatively short. As she moved her hand, and stepped closer between my open legs, Arin hovered over me and took advantage of my open mouth.

The head of his dick touched my lips and pushed into my mouth when I widened it automatically. I realized he was already as slick as Suzy’s gently probing fingers and he tasted of the same fruitiness that had been on Suzy’s lips. An electric sizzle seemed to flash through my body as I realized the wet sound I heard seemed to have been Arin sucking Suzy’s fingers while her mouth had been around his cock.

Shit, this was pretty exotic stuff, I thought as Arin pushed deeper into my mouth, making my cheek bulge. His balls brushed my other cheek. He pulled away and changed positions so that he was straddling my upper chest. His dick was in my mouth again, and I heard him say “Fuck!” loudly before spouting a stream of Japanese to his wife.

The movement of Suzy’s hand increased it’s pace, but she still moved it carefully, so that she wouldn’t hurt me. My hands fisted in their duvet. I wanted to groan, but forced myself to remain silent so that I wouldn’t accidentally scrape Arin with my teeth. Suzy withdrew her hand suddenly, and I felt her step away and heard her moving across the room.

“Arin,” she said in plain English, “I think she’s ready.”

He stopped face-fucking me and made a reluctant sound before climbing off me. He flipped me over, so that my legs dangled off the edge of the bed with my ass in open air.

“So, I thought of what could fix your boredom of vanilla.” Arin said, his voice was growly and thick with suppressed laughter.

I gathered my courage, and tried to sound only mildly interested when I asked, “Oh? And how’s that?” 

Suzy’s giggles sounded closer again, as though she had moved from the foot of the bed to the side.

“Well, as an example, say you had vanilla ice cream.” He said, and I felt him step up between my legs. He ran a hand over my ass almost lazily.

“Okay, I have vanilla ice cream.” I stated sarcastically, my voice pitching slightly.

Suzy crawled up on the bed as Arin said, “We like to use vanilla ice cream in our banana splits.” He intoned and I felt his cock, now sheathed in a condom, rub against my inner thigh. Suzy was moving my arms from underneath me. “So, you’re gonna be the banana, and we’re gonna split you.”


	18. Taste

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, it's been a few days since my last update, guys. Things have gotten a little crazy before this Easter holiday. I should be getting back into my regular writing routine soon. Thanks so much for your patience and I hope you enjoy this new chapter ;) I'm already working on the next one. Keep reading, lovelies! XO

A shiver of anticipation ran up my spine. I desperately wished I could see what was going on, but having the blindfold on only seemed to heighten the sense of excited tension I was feeling deep in my belly.

“It takes more than vanilla ice cream and a banana to make a banana split, you know.” I said, my sarcastic tone falling a little flat due to the quaver in my voice. I felt Suzy’s body slide in front of me and she placed my hands gently on her thighs as she gave a breathy laugh.

“Well, we do have one more thing. But I’ll let you find out what it is, my lovely.” Arin growled from behind me, scraping his nails lightly down my right buttock.

I hissed. My body was wound up too tightly to handle much teasing. “Just get it over with.” I whined.

“You first.” Suzy purred.

She guided my head between her legs and my stomach did another flip. I can do this. Surely, after everything I had done, I could do this. I sucked in a shaky breath and bent my head.

My cheeks brushed up against the soft skin of her thighs and I heard her give a small gasp. Already, I could smell her. As unfamiliar as I was to any feminine scent other than my own, I had to admit Suzy’s was not what I had expected. It held the same fruity tone I recognized from her kisses and Arin cock.

Tentatively, I put my mouth on her, tasted her. She groaned and I let my tongue move experimentally. Why had I been afraid of doing this? The way Suzy shivered beneath my mouth was exhilarating. I was thinking hard as she moved closer, grinding her sex into my mouth. Finally, my mind pinpointed the taste similarity. It was strawberries. She tasted like strawberries. I ran my mouth up and my tongue lapped at the perplexing sweet flavor. They had flavored lube, I realized, just like strawberry sauce on a sundae. I ate it up, savoring the way the taste lingered on my tongue each time I ran it between Suzy’s lips. She moaned again, and I felt her drop back a little, like she had been sitting up and had had to lean onto her elbows.

Just as I was wrapping my arms around her thighs, I felt Arin push into me. My own groan was muffled by Suzy’s pussy and she shrieked at the vibration the sound made against her clit. Arin seemed spurred on by her obvious enjoyment and reveled in his long, deep strokes. His large hands dug into my hips and ass like he was hanging on for dear life.

I moved my mouth in time with the thrusts of Arin’s hips and it seemed to be driving Suzy right out of her head. I, too, was feeling the slow cracking of the dam of pleasure inside me and had to concentrate hard so that Suzy wouldn’t feel ignored. I felt Arin lean against me heavily and suddenly the blindfold was gone.

My stomach contracted as I looked up Suzy’s neatly shaved pussy to meet her eyes. She was biting her lip giving me a look, a needy sort of glare that told me what was running through her head. I turned my head slightly and gave her thigh a sharp nip. She cried out and her head dropped back, suddenly panting.

Arin bucked and then ratcheted up his pace, the sounds of his wife’s pleasure egging him on. I returned my mouth to Suzy’s sex for a long minute, lapping at her and trying the trick that Barry had used on me, clamping my mouth around her clit and humming. Suzy twisted in my arms, moaning and whimpering. I turned my head and nipped her other thigh before snapping my head back to her clit and humming. Her whole body tightened and she screamed. A small gush of strawberry flavored juices filled my mouth and I swallowed them down with a self-congratulatory smile. I had made her cum. 

Arin pulled me away from Suzy, suddenly, flipping me over and pulling one of my legs up into the air as he thrust into me, hard. I shrieked myself. My smile melted away as he looked down at me with an almost wolfish grin. “I’m going to do to you what you just did to my wife.” He promised, in the husky tone of lust that I was used to by now.

He made good on that promise. He plowed into me with abandon, and after we were both shaking with our own releases, he kissed the taste of Suzy from my lips. Sated and spent, I crawled up beside Suzy and she threw back the duvet for us to get under. Arin went to and returned from the bathroom after disposing of the condom and got in bed on the other side of me. The three of us snuggled down under the covers, my head on Suzy’s shoulder and Arin’s arm around my waist.

“That was nice,” Suzy breathed, sounding just as satisfied as I felt.

“Mmhmm,” I agreed, feeling tired but perfectly happy.

Arin pulled his body closer. I felt his chin moving against my arm as he asked, “Sunny, is everything okay?”

“Every-thing’s wonderful.” I answered, sleep was beginning to pull at me and I sounded slurred. “You guys sure know how to show a girl a good time.”

We were quiet for several minutes and I was almost asleep when Suzy asked me something else and I responded. What it was, I don’t recall. I conked out as the two of them held me and my dreams carried me far away.

  



	19. Sick

I left Arin and Suzy’s the next morning and spent the drive home feeling alternately pleased with and ashamed of myself. I was proud I had overcome not one but two sexual milestones. I had had my first threesome and had oral sex with another female. That empowerment I’d been missing over the last few weeks coursed through my veins. That part felt amazing, but I found it wasn’t exactly enough. The thoughts I tried to avoid were all the more present because I was trying to avoid them. Simultaneously, I wanted to push the boundaries of my ever-deepening sexual depravity to distract myself even further, but also I wanted stop being so childish and talk the whole thing out with Barry.

But Barry hadn’t called me either. I didn’t know if he even wanted to talk it out, or if he perhaps was just trying to forget the whole thing.

I spent the rest of the weekend curled up on my couch, watching Grey’s Anatomy reruns and crying my eyes out. I fielded phone calls and texts from almost everyone asking me to go out. My thoughts being so tangled up, though, I didn’t think I’d be any fun. I told them all I was sick, and my the time Monday rolled around, I really was. My conflicting emotions and the way I was worrying myself about them for 48 hours straight had led me to catch one giant, hell of a cold.

I pulled up to the Grump Space for the weekly meeting, exhausted and looking like something the cat dragged in. I was wearing jeans and an over-large hoodie. My hair was pulled up away from my face and, although I’d tried to cover them with makeup, the dark circles under my eyes were obvious. I received a good deal of stares as I sat down at the table with everyone else. I waved a vague hand of greeting and coughed into my elbow.

Ten minutes in, Arin and Vernon were going over something or another and I took notes without really processing whatever they were saying. When there was silence, I looked up and they were all looking at me again.

“What?” I croaked, throat hoarse from all the tears shed over the weekend.

“I asked if you were okay and you just kept on writing.” Arin said, looking concerned. I blinked and looked down at my notes. Sure enough, there it was, I’d written down every word.

“I’m sorry,” I sighed quietly and then coughed again, “I’ll pay better attention.”

Dan, who was sitting right beside me, grabbed my arm. “Honey, this isn’t about your notes, this is about your health. No offense, but you look terrible. You should go home.”

“But I just got here,” I protested, slowly. “I have a mountain of things to go through.”

Dan shared a look with Arin that was almost frightened. He took the pencil out of my hand. “I’m taking you home right now.”

Ross came around the table and helped Dan stand me up. “I live nearly an hour away,” I said, not moving my feet.

“Then you’ll go to Dan’s,” Ross told me, trying to pull me, gently, toward the door. “Right, Dan?” 

“Absolutely. Arin, do you mind if we change today’s schedule?” He asked and turned.

“Of course not, man.”

I looked away from Dan and back to the table. Everyone was looking at me with worried faces. Everyone except Suzy and Barry who were looking at each other.

“Come on, Sunny-girl.” Dan said in my ear, gently. “Let’s get you some R&R and TLC.”

Finally, I resigned myself. I allowed Ross and Dan lead me out to my car, Suzy was right behind them with my purse. After they had bundled me in the front passenger seat, Ross gave me a sympathetic sort of pat on the arm and closed the door. I leaned my head on the window and watched Suzy talking to Dan for a moment before he nodded and got in the driver’s seat.

He looked over at me as he shifted into drive, “Don’t worry, babygirl. I’ll take care of you.”

“Thank you, Danny.” I mumbled in my croaky voice, and closed my eyes.

I don’t remember much about the ride over to his house. My brain was foggy and I was so tired. Dan helped me out of the car and I shuffled with him into his living room. He disappeared for a moment and came back with all the pillows and blankets from his bed. He turned me into a human burrito on the couch, ignoring my protests all the while.

“Shut up, will ya?” He said, smiling down at me. “I told you I was going to take care of you.”

“I don’t want you to put yourself out to do it.” I replied, hoarsely. 

He grabbed me some water, cold medicine, and, by golly, he actually made me chicken noodle soup. It was from a can, but I appreciated the sentiment all the same. He watched me eat every bit after turning on Cowboy Bebop, remembering before he left on his promotion tour that I’d said I’d never seen it.

We were only halfway through episode two before the cold meds started to kick in. I had my head in Dan’s lap and he was stroking my hair with his big hands. I sighed contentedly.

“You’re so nice to me, Danny.” I said, groggily.

He looked down at me with a grin. “I love it when you call me that.”

“Why?”

“I just do.” He said and I sighed again as he continued to smooth the hair back from my face. “You know how I said you looked terrible earlier?” He asked and I nodded slowly. “I was wrong. You’re kind of adorable like this.”

“Gee, thanks, babe.” I grumbled and fell asleep.

When I awoke, it was several hours later. The sun had gone down and the only light in the living room was the illumination from the TV. I heard low voices in the kitchen. 


	20. Pain

I peeked over the top of the couch and listened hard. I couldn’t see them, but once I was concentrated, I could hear them through my clogged-up ears.

“What are you talking about, dude?”

“A friend of Holly’s. She asked me out the other day.”

“Really?” There was a long pause and then I heard snickering. “All right, Bear! Is she hot? You gonna seal the deal after?”

“Well, yea, and I dunno.”

“And when is this little love-fest taking place?”

“This Saturday, why?”

Dan laughed again. “Just need to know if I’ll need to confine myself to my room or vacate the premises completely, man.”

Barry was laughing, too.

I lowered myself back down on the couch, heart hammering in my chest. Well, I guess that settles it. I obviously don’t have to worry myself sick about talking to Barry anymore. If he was going on an actual date with someone, he had clearly moved past whatever had gone down between us.

I realized with a sudden, painful certainty that I had real feelings for Barry. Feelings that had been cemented when he had made love to me. Now it felt as though I’d just been punched right in the gut. Distracting myself instead of being honest with him had been the wrong choice and now I was paying for it.

I felt a lump rising in my throat and tears starting to sting my eyes. I wanted to think it was just from the cough I was trying to hold in, but I couldn’t lie to myself. My chest was burning and I released the breath I‘d been holding. A coughing fit wracked my whole body and I couldn’t suppress the tears now springing free.

To his credit, Dan was back in the living room in an instant. He watched the distress on my face, handed me a water bottle and patted my back soothingly. “Just breathe, babygirl. Don’t try to hold it in, I think you’re only making it worse.”

Oh, Dan, I thought as I fought for air, truer words were never spoken.

Barry came around the couch as I was hacking my brains out. My heart pulsed painfully and I felt a wicked headache coming on.

Barry’s face held all the concern it had seemed to lack when he was sharing that look with Suzy earlier. “Are you okay, Sunny?” He asked, the tense crease of his brow and the way he looked at me made my heart and head throb again at the same time.

I nodded and turned away from him to look at Dan. “Do you have any Tylenol or anything?” I gasped. He nodded and got up to go rummage through a medicine cabinet somewhere.

I could feel Barry eyes still trained on me, a frown on his face, but I didn’t look at him. I concentrated on taking tiny sips of water, breathing evenly, and not letting out the small, choked cry that wanted to escape me.

“Has Dan been taking good care of you?” He asked, softly.

I cleared my throat, still avoiding his eyes. “The best.” I croaked, looking to Dan gratefully as he reappeared and handed me the capsules I’d asked for. “Thanks, Danny.”

Dan smiled and sat beside me. “No problem, babe.” He intoned, gently. I knocked back the pills with more water and then leaned against him heavily, closing my eyes. I heard Barry shuffling his feet as Dan put his arm around me and I put my arms around him too, clung to him. I needed someone to hang onto, while I tried to ignore my heart beating that aching, sorrowful tattoo in my chest.

“I’m gonna go work on some stuff.” Barry said vaguely, hesitating before leaving the room.

“Bye, Barry.” I said, as normally as I could, into the crook of Dan’s neck. I waved a hand lazily in Barry’s direction. I heard his door close a moment later.

I shivered and reached over to pull Dan’s blankets back over me. Dan rested his chin on the top of my head. “Are you really okay, Sunny?”

I sighed, suppressed another cough and answered, slowly. “Sure, why wouldn’t I be? I’ve got you to take care of me.”

He pulled his head back to give me a long look, his face softening and eyes searching my face. “Yes, you do.”

I gave him a small smile, a stray tear leaked from my eye and he wiped it away with his large thumb. “Let’s watch more Cowboy Bebop, okay?” I said. He rested head on mine, gently.

“Anything you want.” He murmured, sweetly, and turned on the show.

  


Dan was as good as gold and better. He fell asleep at the other end of the couch, our feet tangling together in the middle of the night as we shared his huge comforter. He snapped awake every time I got up to go use his restroom or had a particularly bad coughing fit. He stayed awake to make sure I was doing okay each time, before passing back out.

He had to go back to work the next day. I wanted to go too, but he insisted I was still too sick. He also refused to let me go home. After setting me up with everything I could ever possibly need, he drove my car to work to ensure I’d still be around by the time he returned.

I didn’t speak to Barry for the rest of the time I was there, the wounds I was feeling were too fresh. I pretended to be asleep every time he came out of his room. Dan didn’t ask me about it when he was around to witness it, and I offered no explanation.

After Dan got back from work, I finally convinced him I was doing well enough to go home. I was back at work by Wednesday and by Friday, I was fully recovered except for a mild headache and the tiny tear in my heart.

Dan had called me Saturday morning, asking if I wanted to come over and marathon more Cowboy Bebop. I had a strange feeling that he was testing the waters for something. I chickened out, afraid of encountering Barry again on the day of his date. So, I offered Dan an alternative.


	21. Problem

I needed a distraction more than ever now that I was trying to mask the hurt I was feeling and not think about Barry dating someone else. I felt that Dan wanting to hang out with me was exactly what I needed right now. I wanted someone to take the pain away. Maybe it wasn’t the most healthy outlet, but presently I cared little about what was good for me. But Dan was such a great person, such an amazing lover, that he topped my list easily.

“How would you like to go out and do something instead?” I asked him, trying to sound flirty and mysterious.

Dan’s response seemed surprised. “What did you have in mind?”

I smiled into the phone, “How about I keep it a surprise until you get here?”

He was silent for a long moment, and I thought he might decline. His voice came into my ear, “I’ll be there in an hour.” Then, he hung up. I smiled to myself, embracing my deviancy with open arms now. The suppressed excitement I’d heard in his tone made my own flicker in my chest. 

I spent the time before his arrival primping and making absolutely sure that I looked simultaneously casual and stunning. By the time he knocked on my door, I was in my most hip-hugging pair of jeans and a pretty lavender top that accentuated my curves and gave just a peek of cleavage. Not a hair was out of place and my freshly-lotioned skin perfumed a soft scent that reminded me vaguely of gingerbread cookies. After feeling and looking like absolute shit for a week, I wanted to impress upon him how much better I was. I opened the door and looked up into Dan’s grinning face.

“Hey,” he said, dipping his head and kissing my cheek.

I gave him a brilliant smile. “Hi,” I returned and let him in. I gestured for him to sit in the living room and asked if he wanted anything to drink. He didn’t, so I sat beside him on the couch, a foot or two between us, and looked into his face.

He raised his scarred eyebrow. “How are you, Sunny-girl?” He asked, reaching out and twirling a lock of my hair around his finger.

“I’m fine, thanks to you, Danny.” I said, sweetly. I closed my eyes for a brief moment, then I reopened them and drank him in. His wild hair framed his face and fell into those dark chocolate eyes of his. His mouth curved up on one side, giving me a lopsided smile at the way I was looking at him. 

”What are you looking at?” He asked softly. 

I leaned over and kissed his stubbly cheek. “You, duh.”

His hand moved to cup my chin and stroke along my jaw with his thumb. “So, what’s this surprise, then?” He said, chuckling at me.

I tried out Ross’ patented mischievous grin. “I want you to take me shopping.”

He dropped his hand, looking confused. “Shopping? Why do you need me for that?”

I scooted closer to him and walked my fingers up his leg. “Well, there’s a store I’ve never been to before and I was hoping you could help pick out some things for me.”

His eyes darkened. “And what store is that?”

I leaned forward again slightly, biting my lip and scraping my nails against his jeans over his knee. “Oh, you know, just a little boutique near here.”

Dan’s hand reached out determinedly and grabbed mine. “What do you want me to help pick out?” He asked, his tense face just inches from mine. I tried to fight my grin by pressing my lips together.

“Well, you see, I have a couple problems and I need a couple things so that you can help me solve said problems.” I told him, my face mimicking his seriousness slightly.

He closed his eyes, breathing deeply through his nose. I was testing his gentle resolve. I grinned as he talked through slightly clenched teeth and asked, “Those problems are?”

I didn’t answer. I closed the distance between us and ran my lips along his jaw, just as he had done to me so many weeks ago.

He inhaled sharply. “Sunny.” He said, a low warning in his tone. I ignored it and kissed the hollow at the base of his throat. I ran my free up his chest, neck and into his hair. “Danny.” I whispered, mockingly into his ear and then nibbled at his earlobe.

He was on me in a flash. His body pressed mine into my couch and he had my arms pinned on either side of my head. “If you don’t tell me now, I’ll just go home.” He threatened, his brown eyes blazing with impatience.

I tried to look innocent, but smirked in spite of myself. “You wouldn’t.” I challenged.

“Sunny!” Dan exclaimed, exasperated.

I broke, grinning up at him staring into his eyes with an amused sincerity. “My problems are that I don’t own any lingerie because I don’t know what would look good on me. That and I’ve never tried anal.” I threw in and wriggled beneath him. “I need you to fix that.”

For a moment, Dan looked stunned. Then an pleased sort of smirk quirked up the edge of his mouth. “Is that right?”

I batted my eyelashes at him and nodded. He bent his head and kissed me hungrily. I moved my mouth with his enthusiastically, arching up a little so that my chest pressed against his in a very suggestive manner. When he broke away, he was still smirking. “I’ve always been a problem solver,” he said and kissed the tip of my nose.

I smiled back at him, sweetly. “You know, I always got that vibe from you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, lovelies! Tomorrow is my birthday, and I was hoping (since I plan on posting some really saucy chapters after this one) that you guys could show me a little extra love. Comment your absolute favorite part of this fic so far or what you'd like to see in the future for yourself (Sunny). I love getting feedback from you all, and since this is my longest fic to date, I'd love to keep it going. I don't know if I'm doing well unless you keep letting me know. Thanks so much, again, for reading. I hope you continue to enjoy Love on the Line. I love you all! Xoxo -ELH


	22. Butterflies

  


I stood in my bedroom, later that evening, with butterflies in my stomach. Dan had taken me out to lunch before the two of us had visited the store I’d mentioned. While there, we purchased a good number of things that were now in bags on my bedroom floor. Presently, I owned five lingerie sets in various styles and colors, a sampling of several varieties of lubrication, what seemed like a million condoms, and a brand new vibrator. Dan had, of course, been very helpful in the selection process of all these items. When I was in the dressing room of the boutique trying on some of the lingerie, he had wandered off and returned when I was finished with a brown paper bag in his hand.

“I’ll make you a deal,” he said, adopting the same mock-serious tone I’d used on him earlier. “I’ll give you a present, if you model one of those things for me before I fix your… problem.” I like presents. Who doesn’t? So I agreed and we’d driven back to my apartment with a playful tension building between us.

“You know,” I said while we were sitting at a red light. “It’s really me that should be giving you a present. For taking such good care of me.”

He gave me the devious grin I’d seen just before he’d fucked me against his front door. “Oh, you already are.” He said and laughed.

Now I was standing in my bedroom wearing a sky-blue bustier, panties with garters, thigh-high white tights and black pumps. My whole body seemed flushed and I wasn’t entirely sure whether it was from embarrassment or pleasure. In any case, I was nervous.

With shaky hands, I lit some vanilla candles that were on my desk and dresser. It was more to set myself at ease, I think, than to create any kind of mood. Once I had, though, I figured I might as well go the whole nine yards. I turned some soft 80’s rock on my laptop and turned on the swirling, colored screen-saver. I flipped off the light and cracked the door open.

“Dan?” I called out to him in the living room. I stepped back closer to the bed and waited.

He pushed the door open with one hand, holding his brown paper bag with the other. When his eyes found me in the dim lights, I saw him freeze in place comically. “Holy shit.” He whispered, his eyes taking in every visible inch of my flesh.

“Does it look okay?” I asked, my face feeling hot.

He took a step toward me, closing the door and dropping his bag. “It’s blue.” He replied, his face still and stunned.

“That’s your favorite color, isn’t it?” 

His eyes snapped to my face. He smiled at me ravenously, like the wolf who had just spotted Little Red Riding Hood skipping down a path. “Why, yes. Yes, it is.” He took another step toward me. My stomach jumped and I moved backwards toward my bed.

“But, does it look okay?” I inquired again.

Dan was breathing deeply. The look on his face told me his mind was thinking very hard about something. “Spin around.” He said, his voice sounded low and growly.

I did as he said and I heard him say, “Sweet, almighty fuck.” under his breath.

“So this was a good choice?” I surmised, smiling at him, finally. His Adam’s apple bobbed in his throat as he swallowed hard and nodded at me. He took two long strides to close the space between us. I tried to shuffle back, but the backs of my legs met the foot-board of my bed and I nearly toppled backwards. Dan’s large hands shot out and he caught me before pulling my body flush against his.

“What are you so afraid of?” He asked, his rumbly tone becoming soft and concerned. I didn’t answer. I just leaned my forehead against his neck, breathing audibly. “I won’t say I’m not going to hurt you, honey.” He told me, gently. “Because what you want me to do does hurt, at least a little.” He ran his hand down my spine, both soothing me and making me feel hot all over. “But I promise, I’ll try to be gentle. I can stop any time you want me to.”

I planted a kiss on his stubbly jaw. “Okay.”

“Okay, then.” He said. He pulled back and kissed me, passionately. The butterflies in my stomach seemed to change over from a gentle flutter to an energetic samba.

Dan stepped away and trailed his eyes down the length of my body. “Now, take that off.” His gruff, husky voice was back.

“But, I just put it on.” I protested, confused.

His gaze was red-hot as he met my eyes. “Remember what happened to your panties last time?”

I giggled, nervously. “Yes.”

“Well, I only wanted you half as bad then, as I do now. And I already wanted you more than anyone I’d ever been with before.” He told me, gravely.

I bit my lip, trying to suppress a smug smile. “If you say so,” I murmured, sounding breathy and overly-girlish.

I reached behind me and undid the clips of the bustier. I slid the straps from my shoulders and threw it at him. He caught it in one of his big hands before bringing it to his face and inhaling the scent of my lotion and perfume. Then he tossed it away, his eyes blazing even more. “Keep going.” He growled.

I kicked off the heels and nudged them away. I bent my waist ever-so-slightly to unclip the garters from my tights. I shimmed the panties down my legs while I watched his wild-eyed expression. I stood there in nothing but the thigh-highs for just a moment before he lost it.

He closed the distance between us again, scooping me in his arms and tumbling us both onto the bed.


	23. Pressure

It turns out, I was as hungry for this as he was. His mouth clamped to mine as we hit the bed. I tugged at his clothes with a lusty determination. I was a woman possessed. Soon, his jacket, shirt, jeans, boxers, socks and sneakers ringed the floor around my bed like a ceremonial circle. 

Dan Avidan was in my bed, buck-naked and kissing me like I’d never been kissed before. I scraped my nails along his skinny ass and he groaned into my mouth. I felt almost like a different person as he nibbled at my neck, ran his hands down the sides of my breasts, waist and hips. I was a darker version of myself. I mewled like a cat in heat as he licked down my collarbone and wrapped his mouth around my right nipple.

I was already panting as he reached over and pulled the duvet off my bed and lay me back down on my flowered sheets. He tongued the bottoms of my breasts and rubbed his legs against mine. The contrast of his coarse hairy thighs along my smooth, bare skin nearly drove me insane with want.

Dan intertwined our hands and slid his body over mine.

“Tell me what you want,” he said into my hair, his voice rough and low and full of need. I felt his long erection trailing pre-come along the skin of my abdomen, hips and thighs as he pressed his hot mouth down across every available piece of my body that I’d presented to him.

I sucked in shaky breaths. “Danny…” I gasped between his kisses, licks and nips. “Please, Danny, fuck me. Please.”

“Say it, babygirl. Where do you want it?” He rumbled and dragged his tongue over my hipbone and then bit it lightly. I nearly shot off the bed. 

“Please fuck my ass, Danny.” I begged, writhing beneath him.

He made a pleased sort of grunting noise and then lifted his body away from me. He flipped me onto my belly and placed his palm in the small of my back, a signal to be still. A high whine keened in my throat. Dan continued moving his wet mouth over my skin, exploring every inch except for place where I wanted it, needed it the most. My legs and arms had begun to quake and I tilted my ass toward him, earning a dark chuckle.

Dan tapped the insides of my thighs, and I opened them wider obediently. Two of his fingers pierced into my wet sex and my breath hitched. He rocked those digits, slowly rotating his hand and his thumb brushed over my asshole. The barely-there touch over the sensitive knot of nerves made me groan. I wriggled, bumped my hips back, desperate for deeper contact.

He didn’t oblige. He pulled away and I curved my body to watch him walk across my bedroom floor and dig in one of the bags that lay on the other end of the room. He sauntered back with a bottle of lube and condoms clutched in his hand.

Once back on my bed, he tugged me closer to him, pulling me so that I was hiked up on my knees. He ran a large hand over my ass gently before giving it a quick slap that made me fist my hands in the sheets.

He tilted my body, angling my torso toward the mattress and parted my ass cheeks, seeming to study me from behind intently. “Mhmm, beautiful.” He said under his breath.

Dan ran his hot, slick tongue in a long line from my clit, over my slit and around the un-breached ring with the very tip. A strangled cry escaped me. He repeated the action several more times, with each pass his tongue was more intimate, probing. My body relaxed, preparing for him to pierce me in a way no one ever had.

I heard the crinkle of foil and looked back to see him rolling on a condom, then squirting lube in his palm and coating the latex sheath in long, twisting strokes. When he completed this task, he greased up his fingers and pressed two of them directly into my ass.

I squeezed my eyes shut at the invasion and moaned. He pumped and scissored his fingers at my untried anal cavity. He stretched the tight muscles and I thrust my butt back with a deep, wanton desire.

After several minutes of this penetration, it seemed he couldn’t wait any longer for the next. He inserted the tip of the lube bottle into my asshole and squirted a generous portion. I shuddered and shrieked a little. It was so cold.

My mind couldn’t linger over it for too long, he pushed my shoulders down until the side of my face was pressed into the sheets. “You can tell me to stop anytime.” He reminded me. He sounded so different. It seemed like I wasn’t the only one who had departed normality. Dan’s presence suddenly felt rougher, grittier. This wasn’t exactly the same man who had played nursemaid to me when I was ailing.

Dan parted my ass cheeks again, placing the slippery head of his dick against the puckered entrance. He began to push in with a low groan.

I couldn’t help it. I clenched up. Ow. Ow. OW. 

“You have to relax, baby.” Dan’s big hands came around gripped my hips. I could hear his breath rattling as he probed harder, entering me millimeter by millimeter. I concentrated very hard on taking huge, calming breaths. Gradually, I relaxed my muscles enough that the blood-engorged tip of his cock popped fully into that tight ring. I gasped at the intense pressure and kept my body soft by sheer force of will, fighting the urge to tighten up again.

Now matter how I was trying to focus, my breathing was ragged. He ran a soothing hand up my spine. I could feel him shaking with the effort of keeping his hips perfectly still, trying to let me adjust to his intrusion.

“Are- you- okay?” He asked through clenched teeth. 


	24. Release

I hadn’t answered in a long minute. I was letting my body adjust to the feeling of Dan inside of me this way. The pressure hadn’t really lessened, but once I’d conquered the urge to bear down and force him away from his intrusion, I could breathe a little easier. Finally, I nodded into my sheets and he proceeded.

The way Dan’s fingers dug into my hipbones told me very clearly that he was doing his best to be gentle. The length of his dick slid into my ass, with an aching slowness. Inch by inch, he pushed, not stopping and not asking if he was hurting me. He knew he was. But I had asked him to do this, I wanted him to.

I had wanted him to be the one to show me how this worked. I felt no regrets as he buried himself inside me completely. Something inside me had clicked, and a molten hot pleasure was seeping its way in through the cracks in the pain. I clenched up again, then released. My body was catching on; it knew what I wanted.

Dan had gone still again, now that his cock was completely nestled inside me. He didn’t speak. I don’t think he could. I peeked back at him to see that he had his eyes screwed shut, jaws muscles working as he clamped down on some sound he didn’t want to make. A light sheen patterned his forehead and chest in the low light. His wild hair was sticking out in all directions. I could see the muscles in his arms jumping, quivering as he tried not to move until I gave him the word go.

I took a deep breath, cursed myself internally, and the ground my ass back onto him. It was as clear a signal as I could muster.

But that was all he needed. Dan slid halfway out and then slammed into me. Three, four, five times. I cried out, my anal muscles tightening around him instinctively. I could feel the pull on every downstroke, milking him with this new kind of embrace.

Dan found a rhythm, pounding his hips into my ass cheeks while the head of his cock hit what felt like the very core of my being, over and over. His left hand snaked between my drenched thighs, rubbing at my swollen clit, while the other gripped my hip so hard I’d have bruises that lasted for days.

I bucked and cried out beneath him. The headboard smacked into the wall with persistent bumps that matched our pace. The feeling of his dick tunneling into me was the hottest thing I’d ever experienced. This was not love making. This was fucking in the most elemental way. Raw, dirty, delicious.

My clit throbbed beneath his long fingers, and he leaned more to the left, the better to touch me. The change in angle hit something new inside me. I screamed as my orgasm burst from me in a wet, tidal wave. Everything inside me clamped down as I rode the ripples.

Dan thrust into me again and, feeling the way my muscles spasmed around his dick, exploded his own release. I felt him twitching inside me as a creative string of obscenities passed from his lips. He swayed against me, as though he might pass out, but he slid a trembling hand across my damp skin to steady himself. My whole body shivered. He pulled out carefully, helped lower me to the bed and lay down beside me with his chest heaving, masses of curly hair plastered to his handsome face.

A furious pounding came from the other side of my bedroom wall and we both jumped. My neighbor raved and hollered for us to shut up and that she didn’t want to hear us sinning while she was trying to watch Family Feud. Dan’s eyes locked on mine and we both cracked up. 

“Considerate of her to wait until we were done,” He wheezed, holding a stitch in his side and getting up so that he wouldn’t spill any semen from the condom onto my bed. He disappeared into my bathroom and cleaned up, bringing back a wash cloth just as he had the first time we were together.

He smoothed my hair as he wiped me down, gently cleaning my tender flesh. He tossed the cloth away and grabbed my duvet from the floor. He crawled back onto the bed, pulling it over us and spooned me from behind. We were silent for a few minutes.

“I was too rough, wasn’t I?” He asked, sounding regretful. He nuzzled his face into my neck. “I’m sorry, babygirl.”

I shook my head lightly, knowing he could feel it. “No, Danny. I liked it. I didn’t tell you to stop, did I?”

His lips brushed my ear. “No. Jesus, I’ve never come so hard in my entire life. You’re just so sexy, so tight. I…” His words trailed away.

“I haven’t either.” I assured him, sighing as his arms tightened around me. “Though, I may be a paraplegic now.”

He laughed again. “Goddammit, Sunny. You really are dangerous. I knew it the moment I met you, when you smiled at me after I pulled your chair out for you in that sushi restaurant.”

I felt my face flush in the darkness. “That’s the pot calling the kettle black, you know.” I told him. “You’re the one who has ravaged me, not once, but twice now.”

He kissed my neck delicately. “I’ll be happy to do it again, any time you let me.”

We both fell asleep that way, curled up together. When the dawn came, so did a shrill buzzing sound.

“Mmm Danny, isn’t that your phone?” I mumbled, still exhausted.

Dan groaned groggily. He slid away from me, dragging himself out of bed, to dig through his jacket where it still lay on the floor. I flipped over, savoring the ache in my body as I watched him fumble the phone out and answer it, still very nude.

I could hear a muffled voice on the other line, someone shouting at him without preamble. I watched the blood drain away from his face. His eyes met mine and he smiled at me apologetically. He scooped up his boxers from the floor and walked to my living room, closing my door behind him.


	25. Overheard

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YAY! <3 It's my birthday! Thank you to those who have wished me a happy birthday so far! I don't have any plans until the weekend so you can expect 2-3 chapters for today! Also, thank you so much for your feedback, I love getting it! And I hope you guys enjoy what I have coming for you! XOXO- ELH

I wasn’t at all interested in listening to Dan’s conversation, no matter how curious I was. I’d learned my lessoned about snooping in other people’s personal business. Instead, I propped up on one elbow and reached over to my nightstand to grab my own phone.

I had a message from Ross, from twenty minutes ago. “What are you up to?”

“Nothing, just woke up. Why, what’s up?” I text back.

He responded back immediately. “Is Dan with you?”

Hmm, that was weird. I don’t know why Ross would just assume that. I hadn’t told anyone he was with me, and I didn’t think Dan had either. Unless he told Barry before he came over yesterday. I shrugged to myself. What did it matter anyway?

“Yea, he’s here. Anything wrong?”

No response came back. Oh-kay.

My head snapped up from my phone when I heard Dan raising his voice in the other room. It was something I’d never heard before, at least not out of anger. Dan was one of the most mellow people I’d ever met. I didn’t have to eavesdrop to hear what he was saying now.

“What the hell is your problem?! Of course, that’s not true!” There was a pause. “Because I know it’s not, Goddammit!” Another pause, longer this time, and then- “Well, FUCK! Then he’s not the only one!!” There was only silence following this outburst.

I felt a nervous tension starting to build in my stomach. Dan opened my bedroom door, looking frustrated, running a hand through his curly hair. His eyes fell on me and his face immediately softened. I relaxed. He walked over, the boxers he had put on hanging low on his lean hips, and sat beside me on the bed.

“I’m sorry about that, Sunny.” He said, earnestly. He reached out and touched my bare shoulder, gingerly.

I smiled up at him, sweetly. “That’s okay. Is everything all right?”

His lips quirked up in a small returning smile. “It is now.” He leaned down and gave me a long, lingering kiss. I reciprocated it with a satisfied sigh. He pulled away, slowly. “As much as I’d love to stay in bed with you all day, unfortunately, I have to get going.”

I reached up and pulled him back down to kiss him again. After a moment, I was the one to break away, planting a tiny kiss on the end of his nose. “Okay.”

Dan gave me a brilliant grin. “You’re amazing, you know that?”

I pretended to preen. “Yea, well, that’s what they tell me.” He cracked up and then started to get dressed.

When he was fully clothed, he kissed me again and was gone with the promise that he’d text me later.

I closed my eyes for a minute, relishing the memory of the night before. Finally, I dragged myself out of bed. And, just as I had anticipated, I was as sore as all hell. But as I shuffled off to take a shower, I decided that the strong ache in my muscles was worth every second I had spent with Dan Avidan.

The rest of Sunday was spent catching up on my favorite shows. I’d forgone watching them during the week so I could finish the pile of paperwork that had built up while I was sick. Before bed, I cleaned up my room. Beneath the bustier I’d thrown at Dan was his brown paper bag, my present. I opened it without hesitation. Inside was a small box, which I also opened, to find a chain similar to the one Dan wore himself. On it was a pendant in the shape of a small silver sun. I bit my lip as I stared at it. It was nothing fancy, but I adored it immediately. I clipped it around my neck, thinking I might never take it off.

  


I felt refreshed, if still a bit sore, when I got to work Monday for the Grump meeting. “Morning, everyone!” I said, cheerfully, coming in and setting my purse down at my desk.  The usual chorus of “Morning, Sunny” met my ears. The meeting wasn’t due to start for another half hour, so I went to go get myself a fresh cup of coffee.

Suzy was at the Keurig making herself one and she looked me over as I stood beside her. “You look chipper today. Did you have a nice weekend?”

I gave her a rather coy smile. “Oh, yea.”

“Yea? What happened?” She asked, her eyes lighting up in interest.

I felt myself blush. “Well, most of Saturday I hung out with Dan.” I paused for dramatic effect. “A little bit of Sunday morning, too.” 

Her perfectly shaped eyebrows flew up in surprise. “Really?”

I grinned, smugly. I wasn’t sure what was so interesting about it, honestly, since I was sure almost everyone in the Grump Space had probably ‘hung out’ with Dan the same way I had. I gave a nonchalant shrug.

By the look on her face, she obviously wanted to press me for further information but wasn’t sure how to go about it. She moved over so I could make my coffee. Eventually, she asked, “Did you try something- less vanilla?” I pressed my lips together and raised an eyebrow suggestively. Her eyes widened. “You did not!” She said in a conspiratorial whisper.

“Did not what?” I asked, smiling again.

Her response was cut off, Brent announced that everyone was there and he wanted to go ahead and get started early. I finished making my coffee, and turned around to sit at the large wooden table. Suzy ran to go grab our planners from our desks and then sat right beside me. The rest of the Grumps filed over and settled in. Dan sat directly across from me, and Suzy pinched my leg playfully under the table when he grinned at me.

It was mostly business as usual. We went over schedules, progress on projects, the whole shebang. I took copious notes, of course, and rolled my eyes when Suzy nudged me with her foot any time Dan said anything. The last thing on the agenda came as a surprise.


	26. Selfless

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! Thanks again for all the birthday wishes! :)  
> I just wanted to say sorry the weird cliffhanger ending on the last chapter. I try to keep each chapter around a thousand words and that was the best place to cut the chapter so that it wouldn't be too short or too long.  
> Anyway, I wanna dedicate the next couple chapters to the sweet PlumpGrump. Thank you for the idea, I hope you like what I do with it.  
> Keep reading, lovelies! XO

“Friday night, Mark is having a party. He’s invited everyone, of course. Let me know if you plan on going so I can give him a head count by Wednesday.” Arin said, his rare professional persona making its appearance. The meeting was dismissed and everyone went about their business.

I got up to make my way to my desk, but Ross accidentally bumped into me and I dropped my planner. I bent to pick it up, but he got there first and handed it to me. His eyes found my new necklace, he reached out to examine it.

“That’s pretty,” he said, his voice sounding odd. “New?”

I nodded, blinking at how intensely his blue eyes looked into mine.

“So, you going to Mark’s party?” He asked, something in his tone told me this wasn’t just small talk.

I shrugged. “Dunno yet. Why?”

“Just wanted to see if you needed a ride. I could take you and your date, if you were thinking of bringing one.” His eyes sparked with mischief. “I’ll be coming through your part of town, and since Holly is going to meet me there with Barry and her friend, I figured I’d offer.”

I felt a painful squeeze in my chest. “Well, thanks, Ross. I appreciate the offer. I’ll let you know if I decide to go.”

He smiled and walked away.

Internally, I did a complete 180. I had been excited about the thought of a party, getting to hang out with everyone in a comfortable setting. Ross telling me that Barry would be there with that girl he was seeing, however, changed my mind completely. Now the problem was that I didn’t have a good excuse not to go. If I told anyone I just didn’t feel like it, they would either try to press me for a real reason or convince me to attend. 

My savior came in the form of Brian. Wednesday, he politely asked, if I was going to Mark’s party. To which, I, again, said I wasn’t sure.

“Well, Rachel and I haven’t had a night out together in a while. If you don’t want to go, would you mind watching our daughter, Audrey?”

I tried not to look over-joyed at the life line he’d just thrown me. “Oh, I love babies.” I said, smiling just a little. “I know you’ve been working really hard lately with all the NSP and Grump stuff. You deserve a night out with your wife. Of course, I’ll babysit for you.”

He smiled, gratefully. “Thank you so much, Sunny. Everyone else is going and our regular babysitter is out of town.”

“Don’t worry about it.”

“I owe you one.” He told me and the went to go let Arin know what was going on.

  


The rest of the Grumps lamented to me on Friday that they wished I was attending the party. I pretended to be regretful while they praised my selflessness to help out a friend. Little did they know, I was actually being totally selfish and cowardly to boot. But, of course, I didn’t tell any of them that.

Dan, in particular, was especially disappointed that I would be absent. He’d been unusually affectionate with me in front of the other Grumps all week, ever since he spotted Ross inspecting my necklace. I didn’t really mind. It was kind of nice to have him come sit on the edge of my desk, playing with my hair while I tried to concentrate on my work. Or stand behind me when I went to make myself coffee, with his hands on the counter, trapping me while he whispered dirty jokes in my ear until I was breathless with laughter and leaning against him for support.

He and the others reiterated their wish that I could join them after work as I said goodbye and followed Brian out the door so I could drive behind him to his house. Once there, Brian went to go get ready while I sat with Rachel and chatted. She was already dressed and had Audrey bathed and fed. All I really had to do was play with her some, make sure she didn’t have any accidents and put her down to bed in an hour or so. Easy Peasy.

While Audrey was engrossed in a dinosaur cartoon, Rachel inquired about what had been going on in my life. Since Brian had formerly been a participant in the open Grumps lifestyle, I told her about my escapades without shame.

“I feel bad.” Rachel said, sincerely. “I know Brian misses it sometimes.”

“Really?” I asked, interested.

She nodded emphatically. “He gave it up because he thought it was taking too much of his attention from me and Audrey. I wouldn’t mind if he did it every once in a while. I know I’m not fulfilling all his desires.”

I touched her lightly on the elbow. “Don’t say that, I’m sure that’s not true.”

She smiled at me, a little sadly. “No, it is. Brian… well, he likes to be dominated. And I just don’t have it in me to be that mean. I’ve tried, believe me, but I just can’t.” 

I pondered for a moment. Thinking over how it must be for Rachel, for Brian. On the one hand, to know what your partner wants and that you can’t give it to them and have them refuse to seek it elsewhere. On the other, to know what you like, what you want, but to deny it to yourself for the sake of your loved ones. Now that was real selflessness.

I wondered if I was capable of being an aggressor; voicing what I wanted, punishing if I didn’t get it. Sounded interesting to say the least. And hey, I‘d been trying pretty much everything as of late. Why not another?

“Rach, I’ve got an idea for you.” I said, a slow grin spreading across my face.


	27. Shove

Audrey went to sleep just as sweet at you please. I’d been invited to make myself at home, so I did. I had some dinner, took a nap, watched TV and waited.

I received scores of texts from Suzy and Dan. The former was giving me a blow-by-blow of all the major events of the evening. Quite literally in one case, as she had found her husband and Ross arguing over an animation technique before making it up to each other in the bathroom. The latter simply wanted to tell me all the naughty things he wanted to do to me when next we were alone together.

I enjoyed the dirty correspondence. Dan had a way with words that gave me no trouble in painting a vivid mental picture. He got me all riled up and I stayed that way. I found no need to touch myself. All that would be taken care of soon enough.

Around two in the morning, I heard footsteps coming up the path to the front door. Jingling keys played in the lock and the door swung open. Brian walked in with his wife’s arm over his shoulders. Rachel looked drunk. Really drunk. But she gave me a hearty wink as Brian towed her toward their room.

“I’ll be right back, Sunny. I’m gonna put her to bed.” He said, his face grave.

“Of course,” I said in my most honeyed voice. “I’ll go grab her a gatorade and some tylenol.”

“That would be great. Thank you.” 

By the time I came into the bedroom to put the provisions on the nightstand, Rachel was already fast asleep. Or pretending. Brian put a finger to his lips and followed me back out into the living room.

“Thanks again for helping us out. I-” Brian began.

I whirled and cut him off. “Shut up.”

His face twisted in confusion. “Excuse me?”

“I said shut up.” I took a step toward him.

His face was reddening, growing angry. Better hedge this off before he gets too far.

“You said you owed me. Your wife and I discussed how you were gonna pay up.” I said, my voice was low, harder than I’d ever forced it to be.

The color drained away from Brian’s cheeks and then rose up again in a flush. “Rachel said-?”

I closed the gap between Brian and myself. My hands fisted in his shirt. The lower half of my body pressed against his. “Brian,” I said in warning, face only an inch or two from his. “Shut. The. Fuck. Up.”

His eyes grew wide, I felt his cock stir against my leg. He swallowed. His gaze drifted down from my face to linger on my chest, rising and falling with my deep breaths. He squeezed his eyes closed. “But your nearly twenty years younger than-”

I shoved him away, not hard but enough to make him stagger since he wasn’t expecting it. “If you make one more goddamn sound, you are gonna regret it.” I vowed. I felt the dark part of me rising up. The part that Dan had released. Now it seemed alive, powerful, insatiable.

“Here’s how this is gonna go.” I said, tugging my shirt over my head. “I’m gonna talk and you’re gonna listen and do as I say. I don’t think you wanna know what happens if you don’t. Understand?”

Brian was staring at me, mouth hanging open. He ran a hand through his graying hair. After a minute, he nodded. I rolled my eyes, turned and flumped down on the couch. I angled my head toward him slightly and made my voice lighter. “Now use that ninja-like silence and get over here.”

He obeyed, not making a sound. He stood before me, looking down at the floor. His obvious submission made the dark thing inside me smile, but I kept my face blank. I tried to look almost bored as I noticed his hands trembling, his dick already straining in his pants.

“On your knees.” I instructed. He knelt. “Take my jeans and panties off.” He did. His eyes focused on my feet, my knees, roving upward. I spread my legs as they found my sex. He swallowed again. His gaze flicked to my face.

“What are you waiting for?” I asked. My voice was quiet and harsh. “Eat it.” Once again, Brian obeyed. I exhaled as his mouth ran along my thigh, he wet his lips and then delved between mine. 

“Good man,” I hissed, my head falling back onto the couch.

He ate like he was starved. His tongue lapped and swirled, teeth grazed and nipped. I arched into his mouth. I lost myself in the hot coil of pleasure and power that was roiling in my belly.

The coil stretched long, straining, getting ready to spring back. I shoved Brian away. He fell back on his ass with a thump. He stared at me with hot, reproachful eyes. His mouth, shiny with the same sticky wetness that lingered on my thighs, was pressed in a hard line. Not a peep escaping his lips. I reached into my bra and pulled out the condom I’d stashed there before Brian had returned home. I threw it at him. It smacked into his forehead and he blinked.

“Put it on.” I commanded, breathing through my nose to quell my excitement some.

I laid across the couch as I watched him shuck his clothes. The swollen head of his cock oozed pre-come from its slit. Brian rolled the condom on and pinched at the tip. He stroked himself once, twice. 

I reached up and swatted his hand away.  “What do you think you’re doing?”

He grunted in surprise. I looked up into his face. Then I shook my head and clicked my tongue at him.

“You’re in trouble now.” I told him, not coldly, just matter of fact. His blue eyes cast down to the floor once again. “I told you not to make another sound.”


	28. Trick

I rose from the couch, still shaking my head in disappointment. On the outside, I was all pity and displeasure at Brian’s slip-up. But inside, the darker part of me was egging me on with a wide grin. Adrenaline spiked in my veins at the very thought of what I was about to do.

I could be hard, I could be unforgiving. Brian was a big boy, and he wanted to be put in his place. I could do that.

When I hatched my plan with Rachel, I wasn’t sure I would be able to do it. That, like her, I wouldn’t have the stomach for cruel trickery.

I knew now that I did. Hell, I was learning more about myself all the time. Would I always be like this? Would this dominating vixen be my new norm? 

Probably not. But I was absolutely fucking positive that I was going to have fun with her in the mean time.

“Lie down.” I said to Brian, a new, harsher snap in my tone.

Blinking at the ground, he moved to slip past me onto the couch. My hands shot out to rebuff him.

“Oh, no you don’t.” My voice cracked like a whip. “Couches are for good boys. And you disobeyed me.” I pointed. “On the floor.”

Doing as instructed, Brian’s eyes flicked to me again. I looked him over before my eyes met his. He had a sheen of sweat over his body. I almost smiled because I knew it wasn’t from overexertion. It was because he was so turned on that his body probably felt like it was on fire. I knew the feeling well enough by now.

His dick confirmed my suspicions. I watched with a raised eyebrow as it twitched up towards his stomach. I could actually see it pulsing as the blood from the rest of his body coursed down to his groin, lingering, the excess getting pushed back to the rest of his vital organs.

When my eyes settled back on his face I could that see he was concentrated now. I doubted another sound would come out of his mouth until it was all over. Didn’t matter. He didn’t have to be a repeat offender to be punished. I moved to stand over him, feet on either side of his hips.

“I’m going to fuck you now.” I said in my most drawling, languid tone; as if I wasn’t at all interested. “But you may not move and you may not touch me. You are a sex toy, nothing more. Do you understand?”

Brian’s eyebrows drew down, knitting together. The blue-fire eyes that were trained on me were blazing so hot they might have left scorch marks. He nodded.

I lowered myself to my knees and then pressed down on him. He slid all the way in with remarkable ease. I was a lot more turned on than I was letting show.

I began riding him; controlling pace, depth and the movement made it very easy to build up that rush of ecstasy I was seeking. I touched my clit, bringing myself closer to the madness. All the while I was grinding toward my own release, using Brian as a prop, I watched him very carefully.

He was lying as stiff and still as a board, hands pressed flat on the floor. I should say he was trying to do this, for although his whole body was rigid, he was also trembling like a leaf in a high wind.

His face continued to be tense, concentrated. His eyes were laser-focused in at the point where our two bodies were meeting. I felt it coming then. The hot coil was stretching,, stretching and then snapped back with such an intensity that I bit down, hard, on my lip to keep from crying out. With the taste of blood in my mouth, I rode the aftershocks of my climax. Brian’s faced changed. It began to scrunch up as he neared his release.

But being sated was no punishment.

I pushed myself off of him as fast as lightning, leaving him shivering on the ground. His completion had been snatched away by my hands. His eyes were shocked again, angry, confused. His lips were pressed together in an effort to stay silent. I could tell that he didn’t dare move. I smiled down at him in a rueful imitation. I picked up my clothes and began to dress as I spoke to him.

“You should have listened to me, Brian.” I said, giving a huge and dramatic sigh. “It would have been nice to come when you were still inside me. Wouldn’t it?”

He nodded. I had my shirt and panties back on.

“It would be nice if you could come at all, huh?”

His face fell, but he nodded. Power surged inside me. He really believed that he wasn’t going to be satisfied at all. Brian had had all his chips in, but I held all the cards. I called all the shots. I was Master and Commander.

I had my jeans and shoes on. I knelt down on one knee beside his hip.

“If this ever happens again, you wouldn’t dream of disobeying me a second time. Would you?”

His chest was heaving. He shook his head.

“Good.”

I reached down and snatched off the condom. I gave him a few quick, hard pumps but that was all he needed. His eyes squeezed shut. I withdrew my hand as I watched his balls draw up. Spurt after spurt of thick, ropey semen splashed onto his own stomach. He still had his eyes clenched closed as I grabbed my purse and walked toward his front door.

“Brian?” I called softly, while my hand reached for the knob. I turned my head to look over my shoulder. His eyes flew open and he found me. “Say thank you.”

“Th-thank you,” He gasped, looking like a sweaty, sperm-covered mess.

“You’re welcome.” I replied, smiling. I opened the door, and went home feeling like I owned the world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I ask myself- was this chapter melodramatic? Yes. Was it ridiculous? Yes. Was it absolutely, soul-crushingly fun to write? You bet your sweet asses it was!  
> Another thanks to PlumpGrump, I hope you and the rest of the lovelies like this chapter. If anyone else has a desperate desire to see something go down between yourself (Sunny) and another Grump, don't be afraid to leave a comment about it. I have a direction that I'm taking this story, but I don't mind pleasing my readers to the very end. ;) Stay frosty, you sin-mongers! XOXO -ELH


	29. Question

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It seems I caught Sunny's cold. I'm all tanked up on meds, so this chapter took like all day to write. If this it's terrible please let me know. I wouldn't mind changing it before I move on. I always want to keep my lovelies happy. xoxo-ELH

The high from my first dominating experience lasted me through the rest of the weekend. I just couldn’t get over how empowered I was after each of my sexual encounters, but this one felt especially potent.

Rachel had messaged me on Sunday to thank me. She actually thanked me for doing that to her husband. She said that Brian had been a little gloomy in the last few months. Apparently, the stress from trying to focus on all his various projects and his family at the same time had really been weighing heavy on his shoulders lately. And according to Rachel, I had fucked him into a better mood.

Maybe I was trying to fuck my own way to happiness? I counted up the things that had happened to me so far. Six in all, not counting my courtyard make-out session with Dan or the accidental love-making incident. Damn. Was that all? I almost felt like I’d had been doing nothing but skipping myself down the winding path of promiscuity. 

Jesus, moving to California had certainly changed me in a manner I never thought possible. In a way, I was almost a totally new person. Most of my inhibitions and insecurities had just fallen away, thanks to the company I kept. After all, it was hard not to be confident when I felt so desired, so wanted, so… loved by all of my friends.

This point was driven home when I discovered that over the course of the weekend, word had spread about my little escapade with the Grumps’ resident ninja.

Monday arrived and I went about my usual routine before the weekly meeting, my mind completely elsewhere. The feeling of normality soon began to break, however, because I couldn’t shake the odd sensation that you get when you feel like someone is talking about you. When I thought about it, it was obvious what they’d be talking about. Everyone had been at the party, so anything that had happened there would be common knowledge between them. The only other topic of interest would be me. And Brian, I guess, but mostly me since I was the initiator and most active participant.

At first, I expected to be judged, criticized as I would be in your average social circle. So, I was floored when what I actually received was congratulations. During the meeting, Arin had praised me as if it were a freaking item on the agenda.

“Sunny, I heard you absolutely rocked Brian’s socks off Friday night! Nice one, dude!”

I blanched, looking around me at the amused, proud and, in Brian’s case, smug faces that were turned to me. Ross started one of those slow 80’s movie claps and, of course, everyone joined in to applaud me. My face flushed so deep, I think I must have turned purple.

“Um, thanks.” I said, completely disarmed. “I heard you and Ross gave each other blowies in Mark’s bathroom. Uh, good for you?”

“BLOWIES?!” Dan crowed from beside me, pounding his fist on the table as he completely lost his head.

Ross had stopped clapping, looking sour for a moment. But Arin had leaned onto the table in a pseudo-seductive pose. “It  was good for me.” He said in a purr. “It was good for him, too.” He gave me a huge wink. Then we all cracked up.

Warmth flooded into my chest. These people accepted me. They had pulled me into their crazy world and I had found that I fit right in. I watched as they threw saucy accusations and silly retorts back and forth as they recalled each other’s brazen affairs. Mine was already forgotten. As I looked happily from face to face, my eyes met Barry’s for the first time in two weeks.

He hadn’t continued to carry on joking, as the rest of the Grumps had. He sat across the table from me, not frowning exactly, but he had this questioning look that made him seem unhappy for some reason. My heart crawled its way into my throat and it seemed harder to breathe.

I forced my lips into a small smile that felt as though it were sapping all my strength. His blue-green eyes watched me. He returned my smile, slowly. My chest tightened. Why hadn’t I talked to him before he had moved on? The regret and pain were slipping back into place. I tore my eyes from his and poked Dan under the table.

Dan, ever-observant of how I was feeling, had looked into my face and, somehow, he sensed he had to save me.

“Alright, guys,” He said, still pretending to laugh at something that Ross had playfully accused of Suzy. “Let’s stop bullshitting and actually get some work done.”

Everyone else laughed, grumbled, agreed. The meeting went on as usual. I breathed a sigh of relief. When I was sure that Barry was looking elsewhere and I didn’t need to take notes, I looked to Dan again.

He stared back in concern. His hand locked around mine beneath the table and squeezed reassuringly. My tiny smile was real this time. The pressure in my chest lifted a bit. Dan let go and pulled his phone out of his pocket. He typed a quick message in the notepad app and handed it to me.

“Meet me in recording room after lunch to talk?”

I passed it back and gave him a subtle nod.

  


He was already there when I came in. Most of the others were still at lunch, which hadn’t been ordered in today. I closed the door behind me and came to sit beside him on the couch.

He was pensive, staring at his large hands. He was silent for a long time. I didn’t know why he wanted to talk, so I had no idea how to start up the conversation.

Finally, he turned to me. I’d never before witnessed him looking so serious. His cheerful laughter and teasing smiles were nowhere to be seen.

“What happened between you and Barry?”


	30. Talk

My brain seemed to have seized up for a moment at the question. Like an old jukebox, the lights were on, gears were grinding and parts were whirring around but no record was playing. My mouth hung open, no response leaving it. I didn’t want to talk about this. Not with Dan, the person who had been the most comforting to me, the easiest to be with.

He waited patiently, watching me. His dark brown eyes searched my face as my mind kicked back into high gear. What do I say? What the fuck do I say? As useless as I knew it was, I tried to avoid giving him a real answer.

“What do you mean?”

His mouth drew up, frowning a little. “Sunny, I’ve known that something happened the minute I got back from the promotion tour.”

I was silent again, hands twisting in my lap, so he continued.

“You two acted normal in front of everyone else, but when you thought no one was looking, you got all awkward and flustered. Ross told me how weird it had been while we were gone.” He took a deep breath. “When you got sick, I heard you moving in the living room when Barry was telling me that he had a date. You looked crushed.”

I felt crushed now, the walls too close. Dan was too close.

“Tell me what happened. Please.”

I swallowed hard. “I… We…” The words just wouldn’t come.

He reached out and covered my hands with his. “You liked him. No.” He amended, “You  like him. If the feelings were gone, you wouldn’t look so hurt every time someone so much as says his name around you.”

I dropped my eyes. He sighed at this sign of confirmation.

“You’ve been using me to make yourself feel better.” He said, his voice sounded flat. “You’ve been using everyone to make yourself feel better.”

My eyes flew back to his face. Oh, shit. No, no, no. I hadn’t. I just wanted to be distracted. Did that count as using? I guess it did, though hurting anyone was the very last thing I wanted.

“Dan,” I said, my voice choked and small. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean-”

He cut me off by kissing me fiercely. When he pulled away, I was shocked and breathless.

“You know what? I don’t care. I don’t care one fucking bit. Use me if that’s what it takes for you to be happy.”

“Danny…”

“No.” He said, closing his eyes. “I don’t know what happened, but I don’t give a shit anymore. If Barry wants to be a fucking idiot and go out with someone else, that’s his business. You’ve got me to take care of you, that’s what I said.” He looked at me again, face set with an emotion I couldn’t define. He leaned forward and kissed me again.

I was so confused. My hands came up to his chest and pushed him back, gently. “Danny, what the hell is happening?”

“Shh,” He said, grabbing my hands and pulling them away. “Let me make you feel good.”

I made a noise of protest but his arms came around me. His mouth was on mine again, kissing me with a intent so strong that all the fight went out of me. My eyes fluttered closed, arms wrapped around his neck.

We were working up a good head of steam when there was a sharp rapping at the recording room window. Dan and I snapped apart and looked over. The light was off in the production room, and we couldn’t see who had knocked.

A hand flashed up with a piece of paper and pressed it against the glass. “You just can’t stop yourself, can you?” was written across it. The paper pulled away and the light flicked on. Ross was standing there, crumpling the piece of paper and looking between Dan and me with a raised eyebrow.

Who was Ross aiming that question toward? Me or Dan? And what the hell did that even mean anyway?

In any case, my little interlude with Dan was effectively ended.

“I should get back to work,” I said, voice so low it was nearly a whisper. Dan nodded silently, not moving off the couch. He and Arin were set to record soon. I rose and walked to the recording room door. I looked back at Dan again before I left, and spent the rest of the day more confused than ever.

  


The next day, Suzy approached me around one o’clock, while I was cataloging a new batch of games into the master lists.

“Hey, you have plans for lunch?” She asked with a smile and leaned against the edge of my desk.

I wasn’t sure if she was propositioning me. And, to be honest, I wasn’t really in the mood to get myself into any funny business. I figured I might need to take a little break from that part of my life after what happened yesterday. I also didn’t want to hurt her feelings if she was.

“Maybe,” I said, carefully. “Why?”

“You wanna go with me to pick up food from that new Thai-fusion place down the road?”

Hmm, that sounded okay. I returned her smile. “Sure, Suze.”

“Great, I need a little bit of girl time. This place has been, like, the testosterone-zone since yesterday.”

Well, she was right about that. Ross and Barry had gone into the recording room, after Dan and Arin finished up their latest batch of episodes, to set up for Steam Train. Apparently, an argument had broken out about equipment or something and, by the end of it, all four of them had to leave the room to chill out. There was still a little bit of tension hanging around the Grump Space, even though everyone involved had made peace with each other.

“I know, right?” I said, grabbing my purse from under the desk and widening my eyes at her. “Yea, let’s get the hell out of here. I need some advice.”


	31. Advice

“So, what’s on your mind?” Suzy asked as we got into her car and pulled away from the Grump Space. I tried to figure out how to frame my tangled thoughts into speech.

“How long has the Polygrumps thing been going on?” I asked, trying to sound neutral. I didn’t want to give away too much.

She thought for a moment as she drove. “Hmm. As long as there has been a Game Grumps, I guess. Arin and I just got lucky and connected with like-minded people.”

I nodded. “Has it ever gotten… complicated?”

She smiled. “Sometimes. We’re all open, but we all have emotions, too.” She shrugged and glanced over at me, before returning her attention to the road. “We’re all people. And people are complicated by nature. We become consumed by our feelings. Get Jealous. Bicker. Make up. It just comes with the territory.”

Again, I nodded. “So, besides between you and Arin, or Ross and Holly, does it ever turn into more than just sex?”

She considered her response for a long minute before answering me. “Yes. We’re all so close, you know? It can get deep.” She held up fingers on the steering wheel. “Ross and Barry, for a while. Dan and Arin. Me and Holly. Arin and Ross. Ross and Brian. Barry and Dan. It comes in waves.”

“Barry and Dan?” I asked, incredulously. My voice had squeaked as it came out.

She gave me another fleeting look. “Sure. That’s one of the reasons they got a house together.”

My brain felt swollen with all this new information, but I hadn’t gotten to the meat of the matter yet. “What happens when those kinds of things end?” I asked, nerves fluttering.

She raised an eyebrow and faced me. We had pulled in front of the Thai restaurant. “Sometimes we hurt each other.” She said, a little sadly. “Most of the time, though, we just ease apart. Married couples being the exception, of course. Nothing serious is going down between anyone right now, that I know of. All of us are getting along pretty well, at the moment, right? That should tell you something positive, given each of our past histories. We all love each other.”

“Okay,” I said, taking a deep breath. “Let’s go grab the grub.”

  


I tried to build up my confidence as we waited on the food. Suzy had told me a lot, but I was about to reciprocate and then ask even more from her. My stomach twisted itself into knots. But I couldn’t try to figure this out on my own anymore, and not only was Suzy relatively neutral in all this, she was also a wonderful friend. The moment we got back in her car, it all came up like word-vomit.

“Barry and I made love a month ago.” I blurted, blushing. “It’s been weird between us ever since and then he started going out with Holly’s friend. And it hurt me so bad, Suze. But then Dan and I had such a easy, casual thing going. He started to take the hurt away. And then yesterday, he said…” I blathered on and on, spilling my guts, telling her everything. I went back and gave her every detail I could, as fast as mouth could spit words.

We arrived back at the Grump Space and Suzy cut her car’s ignition with a distant, stunned expression on her face.

“Okay.” She said, gathering all the information I’d just shoved down her throat. “Okay, we need to talk about this more, but I don’t want everyone’s food to get cold. Let’s drop this off on the table and then go talk in the bathroom, it’s the only place without a camera.”

I exhaled the heavy breath I’d been holding since I finished spouting all the gory details. I felt lightheaded. “Good idea.”

We went inside and set up the many containers. Suzy called, “Lu-unch!” And then tugged me away, into the bathroom, before the hungry swarm overtook us. She locked the door and leaned against the sink, crossing her arms over her chest. I put my back against the door and waited. She stared at the opposite wall for a long time.

“Holy shit.” She said finally. I nodded slowly, sighing and putting my face into my hands. “It’s alright. We can figure this out.” She told me.

“Ugh, that would be nice.” I grumbled through my fingers.

“Hmm,” I heard Suzy intone, I looked to her. “So, just so I have everything-” She started. “You thought Barry had a thing for you. It freaked you out. Then you went over to his house and did the thing. Something changed. But you weren’t sure how you felt, so you avoided talking to him about it. Then you overheard him talking about going on a date with someone else, which really hurt you. This caused you to realize that you DID have have feelings for him, but instead of telling him then, you sought solace from Dan. But you didn’t see that your relationship with Dan was changing until he confronted you yesterday. Is all that right?”

“Jesus.” I said and rubbed at my temples. “Yes, and obviously I’m a fucking idiot.”

“You’re not an idiot, Sunny.” Suzy said, clearly still processing. “Though, the solution of what to do now is a little…”

“Imaginary? Fucked?” I supplied, helpfully.

“Up in the air.” She corrected.

“Great.” I said, sarcastically. She frowned at me.

A knock came from behind my head. Arin’s voice called through the thick door. “What are you two doing in there? If it’s dirty, I think the rest of us deserve to see!”

Suzy jumped. “Just girl talk, we’ll be out in a sec!” She lowered her voice and grabbed my arm. “Don’t worry, Sunny. I’ll gather some discrete info and then get back to you on that.”

I sighed, smiled gratefully. I turned around and my hand turned the door knob. “Better later than never.” 

  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is such a dialogue-heavy chapter, but I think we're slowly getting toward the finale of Love on the Line, so I have to configure that the way I want it. Also, there are a couple things I'd like to know from you all.  
> Firstly, would you guys like to have a couple behind-the-scenes chapters before the finale? For example, what Dan or Barry is going through during this whole fic? These would be a condensed version of that person's POV from the very beginning and leading up to just before the finale. Let me know this in the comments.  
> Secondly, we have quite a choice that has been place before us! Who will the reader (Sunny) end up with? Will it be Barry? Dan? Neither? Both? Some of you have already voiced your opinions in the comments, but I made a poll and the winner just might be the ending I go with! You can find the link here: http://goo.gl/q1KPhJ  
> Results from the voting will be kept private so I can surprise you guys! You can vote once per day until I let you guys know ( it will most likely be open until the day before the finale.)  
> Thanks so much, once again, for giving this a read! I love you all! XOXO -ELH


	32. Fight

I felt a little better after getting everything off my chest. Having Suzy take away some of my burdening thoughts was a relief, to say the least. In the days that followed, though, things in the Grump Space started to get weird again. Only this time, I wasn’t directly involved.

Dan and I continued our easy friendship, with his affectionate public displays becoming more frequent. If he wasn’t recording with Arin or working on NSP/Starbomb stuff, he made a point of coming over to me. He was always talking, flirting, trying to make me feel good. No matter how torn my heart was, I couldn’t find it in myself to discourage him. I enjoyed it too much.

The silence between me and Barry also endured. But more often than not nowadays, I found his eyes trained on me. He always looked like he was thinking very hard about something. Confusingly, every time Dan approached me, he looked huffy and put-out. It even happened on the day that the girl he was seeing showed up with Holly to have lunch with him and Ross.

She was pretty. Within the first five minutes of her being there, I left. I couldn’t stand the thought of actually meeting her, even though she was probably nice and smart and fun to be around or whatever. I took a two-hour lunch, just so I was sure she would be gone by the time I got back. This made Arin upset, until Suzy took him aside and told him to let it go.

The weird vibe floating around wasn’t due to that girl, however. It was because of Ross and Dan. 

They were constantly at each other’s throats. It didn’t matter how small the issue, Ross would snap at Dan and Dan would leave in a frosty silence. Dan’s instant internalization of his anger was almost as scary as if he had just hauled off and hit him. But Dan didn’t let Ross have the upper hand. He’d slip snide comments that I didn’t understand  into group conversations , which would invariably set Ross off again.

Dan and Barry weren’t really speaking either. At least, not in front of me. But they lived together, so I thought that their communication must be inevitable.

It was strange. I mean, Suzy said that fights occurred between certain Grumps occasionally, but it seemed silly that all this constant bickering would stem from a disagreement about equipment.

  


About two weeks after I told Suzy everything, I found myself caught in a fight of my own.

I had a normal Friday at the office. The atmosphere was much more relaxed since Ross had stayed home with Holly to record a game with her for her channel. I took my long commute home, only to find him on the doorstep of my apartment.

“Ross?” I asked as he rose from sitting Indian-style on my doormat. “What are you doing here? Have you been waiting long?”

He shook his head. “Only about five minutes. Let me in, I have to talk to you.”

I unlocked the door and gestured him inside. I followed and closed the door, setting my purse and the jacket I wore around the office onto my kitchen table.

“Do you want a beer or something?” I inquired as he sat in one of the chairs.

“Sure, whatever,” he said, rather curtly. I blinked, and went to fetch us a drink. I pulled them out of the fridge and popped the caps off. I brought them over and set one in front of each of us.

“Is… everything okay?” 

He took a long pull from the beer and set it down. “As a matter of fact, no.”

“So, what’s going on?” I queried before taking a nervous swallow from my own bottle.

Ross was taking quick, shallow breaths. His bright blue eyes, narrowed in sudden anger, pierced into me. I noticed that they were glassy and red around the rims. Oh, god. Was he drunk? It was only six o’clock. “I want to know what the hell is wrong with you?!”

I flinched at his raised voice. “Me?” I squeaked, “What did I do?”

He pushed away from the table, beer clutched in fist. “You’re messing with my best friend’s feelings and I don’t like it!”

“What the fuck are you talking about? Dan?” I asked, putting my hands up in an attempt to placate him.

He began to pace around my floor, taking a swig or two from his drink.

“You can’t tell me you don’t know.” He said, running his free hand through his hair and mussing it severely.

“Ross,” I said, in the calmest tone I could manage. “I seriously have no clue what you’re going on about.”

He stopped in his tracks and looked at me with a furrowed brow. “Why have you been hurting Barry?” He asked, the anger drained away from him and his eyes turned melancholy.

I stared back at him, open mouthed. “Hurting him? Hurting HIM?” Now, I was getting angry. I drained my bottle and got up to slam it down, hard, on the counter dividing my living room and kitchen. The glass cracked a little on impact but didn’t shatter.

I approached Ross with a fury building in my body. I poked him in the chest with my finger. “I’m not the one who decided to date someone else after… after… Anyway, how the hell could I hurt him? What have I been doing to cause that?”

Ross frowned, face going red. “Don’t lie to yourself, Sunny. You’ve been avoiding him like the plague. And flaunting your relationship with Dan right in his face.”

I exploded. “I’m not IN a relationship with Dan! We’re FRIENDS! He might have feelings for me, I’m not sure! But that wouldn’t have even happened if BARRY hadn’t made love to me and then decided to start seeing someone else!”

Suddenly, Ross looked shocked and confused. I turned away from him to quell the strong urge to hit something. My voice dropped a few octaves before saying, coldly, “Dan is the one who has been trying to get me over what Barry did to me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things are heating up! And maybe not in a good way! A behind-the-scenes chapter is coming up next!  
> Is your body ready? ;)


	33. Head Games - Behind the Scenes with Ross O'Donovan

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What's this?! A TRIPLE LENGTH BEHIND-THE-SCENES CHAPTER??  
> That's right, my lovelies! We're gonna learn a little bit of why Ross should maybe mind his own business. :) I hope you enjoy. We'll see more of what happens in the reader (Sunny's) apartment tomorrow! Love you guys! XO -ELH

I didn’t think life would change the day we met Sunny. Arin said we’d all have to be a little more discrete, no funny business around the office so that we wouldn’t freak her out with all the things we did. I thought that was bullshit. She signed the NDA, so who cares what she found out? If she told anyone we’d sue her six ways ‘til Sunday. When she caught Barry and I in the storage room during her second week, I didn’t mind. I was amused. There went Arin’s plan out the window.

But that was the first time I noticed that Barry was more than a little concerned about what Sunny thought of him.

He wrote his little note to her and whined about how she was probably going to leave. It didn’t bother me either way. After all, she would either be okay with it or she wouldn’t. I stopped being desperate for acceptance a long time ago.

But lo and behold, after I’d dropped Barry off at home that night, Dan messaged us both. Not only was this girl cool with it, she was interested in trying it. Now that intrigued me. Maybe this smiley, bubbly chick was more than met the eye.

Barry called me the moment I got home, hatching his plan on how to “make it up” to her. I didn’t see why we needed to, but Barry’s my best friend and it seemed important to him. So, I went along with it.

The day hadn’t gone according to plan. My wife had issues with her recording and kept us away from the office longer than we’d expected. Barry was a mess; worried that she’d go home before he got to see her. Again, I didn’t see the big deal. It’s not like this was time-sensitive. But we helped Holly out and sped back to the Grump Space, just to stop Barry’s grumbling.

Luck would have it that the apple of Barry’s eye was in the very storage room where she’d found Barry and me. It was all too easy to revise our plan and just go for the kill.

To my intense surprise, she loved it. The way she writhed against me, while Barry worked that wonderful mouth of his on her… Well, it was not what I’d thought would happen. She came like a thunder storm in the summer; hot, wet, and unexpected. I had to excuse myself to give the two of them a moment alone, but already, what I thought about Sunny was changing.

Barry had found me a few minutes later so I could drive him home and I could tell he was over the moon. For the next week and a half, it was nothing but Sunny-this and Sunny-that. I hadn’t seen a case of puppy love like this since I was in school. I watched him doing one of his little sketches of her once, and was almost jealous of the way he fawned over her.

Then the NSP party happened. I knew for sure that he was really smitten when he was having a drink at the club while he watched her dance with Dan. He told me tipsily that she was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen. I tried to convince him to steal her away from Dan for a dance or two. No dice. He said he didn’t know how to be close to her without making himself look like an idiot, which I actually agreed about. Barry wasn’t exactly the greatest dancer, unless it was just for a laugh.

While I’d been trying to egg him on, he lost sight of her. He panicked briefly, until he got the text from Dan.

“Sunny’s coming home with me. Ask Ross if you can crash with him for tonight.”

And Barry crashed all right. After that, he got completely smashed. I’d never seen him drink so much. It wasn’t Sunny’s fault though, I told myself. She had no idea how he feels about her. I practically had to carry him to the Uber to get home.

The next morning, I woke to find that he hadn’t slept at all. He had just puked his guts up, ate a shit-ton of crackers and drank black coffee until he was sober and wired. I felt bad for the poor Bear. He was confident that Sunny and Dan would become an item after she spent the night with him.

He left my house and thirty minutes later I got a call that Sunny had bolted out of his house and wasn’t answering her phone. The other Grumps got involved, both Barry and Dan had been sent into a tizzy with worry. I began to get that sick feeling that something bad HAD happened. I didn’t want to have to watch Barry’s world get destroyed. Holly and I had to go into Sunny’s neighborhood anyway to pick up a custom-made indoor bird hutch. So I convinced Holly that we should drop in on Sunny, just to me sure. She thought my concern was touching. I was relieved twenty times over when we found her safe.

Then I decided to test her for Barry’s sake. If she really was with Dan, she surely wouldn’t have sex with me. But she did. She didn’t even mind my wife’s or my particular kinks. I had to admit, this was endearing to me. You don’t find that kind of total open-mindedness everywhere.

Sunny really did seem as sweet as Barry had painted her.

I told her about Dan and Barry being freaked, and I saw her wince at Barry’s name. Suddenly, I thought for sure she felt the same way about him. Bear had hope after all. I gave her a little kiss goodbye, and immediately got Barry on the phone as I was getting in my car.

“She’s not with him, Bear. Don’t ask me how I know.” I told him. Of course, he did ask me and was mad for the rest of night, but I thought it might be worth it. 

I didn’t know what happened between Sunny and Barry the next day. Not until two weeks later.

I had my suspicions. Barry had mentioned in passing, before we recorded an episode of Steam Train, that she had come to hang out with him. And of course, I could tell that he was even crazier about her than before.

Dan came back from tour and I joked with him that things had gotten weird. I was just trying to tease Barry, but he just got angry with me. He came to my house and told me everything that happened with Sunny. He was distraught that she hadn’t talked to him about it since, so like a good friend, I told him to talk to her.

He refused. “Sunny is so outgoing. If she wanted to be with me, she would have said something.”

I made him feel better by telling him that he was being a pussy.

Actually, he very nearly punched me in the face. So, I offered him some advice. “Act like you don’t care. Make her jealous. Holly has a friend who always thought you were cute.”

He reluctantly agreed. I gave him her number.

The next Monday, when Sunny came in sick, I watched Barry struggle to look like he didn’t give a damn. I felt horrible that she wasn’t feeling well, though. I made the suggestion that she go to Dan’s house, to throw her and Barry together later. When she left the office, I told Barry to mention he had a date when he got home.

Of course, that’s when everything went to shit. 

Barry had called me later that night. I could tell he was really upset. He doesn’t cry very often, but I could tell he was close. He relayed the entire encounter, his voice breaking on the part where he recalled the way Sunny had clung to Dan like a barnacle on a ship.

I was furious. Obviously, I had been wrong, but I couldn’t believe how blind Sunny was to the great guy who was head over heels for her. Or maybe, I had thought, maybe she knew but she just didn’t give a shit.

I forced Barry to go on his date the following Saturday, just to see if I could get some kind of rise out of Sunny. Instead, Barry had messaged me around midnight, after what he said was the worst time he ever had on a date.

“Dan hasn’t been around the house all day. I think he’s with Sunny.”

I spent half the night calling Dan to explain that Barry was in love with the girl and not to do anything stupid. But I got no answer. I messaged him, called again and didn’t get to bed until four in the morning. I woke up only three hours later and started the process again, getting angrier ever time I got Dan’s voice-mail. I vowed I was going to get to the bottom of this in the name of Barry’s feelings. It may have been meddlesome, but it hurt me to see him hurt. I even broke down and sent a message to Sunny. I waited for 15 minutes but no response. I called Dan again.

He answered in a sleepy voice, and I immediately exploded on him.

“WHAT THE FUCK HAVE YOU BEEN DOING? I SWEAR TO GOD. I SWEAR TO GOD, DAN. WHERE ARE YOU?”

There had been a long pause and then he answered, calmly. “I’m at a friend’s place. Why?”

“IS IT SUNNY?”

Another pause. “No.” I didn’t believe him for one goddamn second.

“DON’T LIE TO ME.”

“Isn’t it a little early to be this worked up, Ross?” He said, almost sounding bored.

There was a beep in my ear. Sunny had responded. After a quick correspondence, I knew for sure.

“YOU FUCKING LIAR. SHE JUST TOLD ME YOU’RE THERE.”

“Alright,” Dan had said, sighing. “I am. What does it matter to you?”

I calmed down only enough to stop shouting. “It matters because you roommate is in love with her, you fucking idiot. You need to leave her alone.”

I could hear Dan swallow through the phone. “That’s not true.”

“Obviously, you’re as blind as she is.”

Dan snapped. “WHAT THE HELL IS YOUR PROBLEM?! OF COURSE, THAT’S NOT TRUE!”

I was the one to keep my tone this time. “Yea, and how do you know that?”

“BECAUSE I KNOW IT’S NOT, GODDAMMIT!”

My anger flared again. “He’s been pining over her for weeks! I would know because I’m the one who has to hear all about it!! I CAN TELL HE’S IN LOVE WITH HER, STUPID!”

He growled in frustration on the other end of the line. “Well, FUCK! Then he’s not the only one!” And he hung up on me.

That threw me for a bit of a loop. I didn’t realize that Dan might have feelings for Sunny, too. No. He was probably just pissed that I was telling him to quit trying to get in her pants. He hated being told that, because he’d been in almost everyone’s pants. I started to think that she was probably the exact same way. She just wanted to get laid.

But when I saw Sunny on Monday, she was wearing that pendant around her neck. The one with the sun on it.

I knew he’d given it to her the second I saw it. How often had I seen the exact same chain swinging on Dan’s skinny neck when we’d fucked? Maybe she really did have a thing for Dan. I bumped into her on purpose, so I could see the necklace up close. So, I could be sure. 

I fished for information on whether she was going to Mark’s party with Dan. I lied to her about Holly’s friend going with Barry. And I saw her flinch again.

Maybe. Just maybe I’d been right about her liking my best friend, but it was hard to be sure.

I figured if I could get them together at the party, with Barry’s date mysteriously absent, everything would work itself out and Dan could find his pussy elsewhere.

But she didn’t go to the party and I didn’t know what to do about her anymore. I made Holly bring her friend with us to the party, just to try to distract Barry from how miserable he was. I felt like shit for him, and snapped at Arin over something stupid. But I made it up to him.

Arin told me the next day about what Sunny did with Brian after she’d babysat for him. I was so relieved for Barry that she wasn’t together with Dan that on Monday I led a round of applause in her honor. I joined in the hilarious conversation that ensued, but I didn’t miss the way Barry and Sunny were staring at each other. I looked away and threw a joke at Suzy. And then we all got back to work.

I thought something was bound to happen then. Sunny had looked at Barry, smiled at him, like he had moved her world. One of them had to grow some balls and admit feelings were there.

I went into the production room after lunch to grab the headphones that I’d left behind, only to find Dan and Sunny making out and groping each other like two teenagers in recording room.

Son of a Bitch! Did Dan just forget what I’d told him? And what the hell was wrong with Sunny? Did she know how Barry felt about her? Was she just fucking with his head? She had to be, on both accounts.

I scribbled out a note on the first piece of paper I could find. I knocked on the glass and plastered the note up where they could see. “You just can’t stop yourself, can you?” I flicked on the light and crumpled the paper looking between them. Dan just couldn’t stop himself from getting his rocks off on a girl his roommate was all cut up over. And Sunny, she just wanted to play mind games with my best friend. I watched as she left the room and looked at Dan in disgust even though he wasn’t looking back.

Later, Barry and I needed to record for Steam Train. I hadn’t told him about Dan and Sunny. It would’ve probably killed him. Dan and Arin had just finished up their session, but my anger at Dan hadn’t gone anywhere. I noticed as he and Arin were about to leave that they hadn’t cleared off the coffee table, something Dan always did after every episode batch. I couldn’t help it, I went off on him.

“Jesus, Dan. You can’t even clear the table of trash and controllers? Getting kind of sloppy, aren’t you?”

“Damn, Ross. Chill out. I’ll do it now.” He said, trying to keep his voice even. But my temper was only rising.

“No, I’ll just clean up your mess. Seems like I’m going to have to do a lot of that.”

“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?” He retorted.

“Easy, guys!” Arin jumped in. “There’s no need for that. We’ll get the mess cleaned up and there won’t be a problem.”

“Seems like Ross always has a problem these days.” Dan said quietly as he turned to clear the table.

My blood began to boil. “Yea, I’ve got a problem with you right fucking now.”

“Whoa, Ross. It doesn’t matter, man.” Barry said, trying to calm me down. But he didn’t know why I was so mad, and him defending Dan only pissed me off more.

“Shut up, Barry. You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Barry’s face flushed in anger.

Arin jumped in again, angry himself this time. “Ross, you need to just fucking stop.”

“Whatever, man.” I said and walked back out of the recording room.

I felt bad later about snapping at Barry and Arin and apologized to them first. Arin told me to apologize to Dan, and because Arin is my boss, I did. But I didn’t mean it, so he and I couldn’t stop fighting for almost two weeks.

It’s because I kept seeing him fawning all over Sunny. And she was flirting back. Right in front of Barry, who kept looking so hurt it nearly broke MY heart.

I was sure now she really was just fucking with his heart and I couldn’t stand it. I invited Holly’s friend to have lunch with us at the office one day, to try and rub how much Barry didn’t care in her face, even though I know he did. I was slightly mollified when she left in a snit.

But finally, I couldn’t take it anymore. I couldn’t watch her hurt my best friend on purpose. I was tired of her head games. I stayed home with Holly to help her record a few days later, but that was just an excuse to avoid seeing Sunny’s infuriating displays with Dan. I didn’t want to blow up at the office yet again and get in trouble with Arin.

I ended up just telling my wife the whole story. I broke down and started to cry in frustration and pain for Barry’s feelings. She suggested that I just confront Sunny privately, to see if there was any credence to any of it. As much as I didn’t want to, it made sense.

  


That’s how I ended up standing in front of Sunny in her apartment as she exploded on me instead. I had been wrong. I had been wrong about all of it. All the advice I’d given Barry, the reason Dan and Sunny were all wound up together all the time. None of it would have happened if I hadn’t meddled. All of it was my fault. How the fuck was I going to tell Barry?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also, an update on the poll: There's a definite front-runner, but it's way too early to tell! Remember you can vote once per day until I close the poll before the finale! Thanks again, babies! <3  
> Poll: http://goo.gl/q1KPhJ


	34. Stories

I could hear Ross stuttering behind me, incomprehensibly. I clenched my fists together, mind racing at a accelerated pace, fueled by my outrage at what he had dared to accuse of me.

His words started to slowly sink in. 

If Ross was so concerned that I'd been hurting Barry, there had to be a reasoning behind it. My heart squeezed in my chest.

I spun around and looked into his agonized, bewildered face.

"Tell me everything, Ross. Every fucking thing. And if you leave anything out, I'll strangle you right here in my dining room."

He did. He told me everything from the very beginning. Barry had been in love with me from the start. Everything he'd done that hurt me had been Ross' fault, not his. 

We ended up sitting on my couch and as Ross talked, I had started to cry. Somewhere in the middle, he had too. By the time he finished, we were both sobbing messes.

"If you don't murder me, Barry just might." He said, rubbing his knuckles into his eyes.

I hiccuped, trying to catch my breath. "I still haven't ruled it out, O'Donovan." I said, but my anger had been sapped away. At least temporarily.

My throat felt tight, and I knew I would look ghastly tomorrow. Thank god I didn't have to go to work looking like shit again. I got up and grabbed Ross and myself another beer, and tried to figure out my next plan of action.

Should I go talk to Barry now that I knew all the stupid silence between us had been a mistake? And what about Dan? How would he feel to know that he had been comforting me from Ross' mistakes and not Barry's? And did he love me too? What would I do if he did?

I felt I couldn't do anything until I knew for sure. I needed some more advice, and I knew exactly who to turn to for that.

"I need you to do something for me," I told Ross and he looked at me with tragic blue eyes. "After everything, I think you owe me."

He swallowed a huge gulp of beer. "If it has anything to do with my penis, I'm afraid I'm not really the mood." He said, his cheeky smile making a meek appearance. 

I punched him on the shoulder, but started laughing. "Goddammit, Ross."

He smiled for real. "Okay, what is it?"

"I need you to not say anything to Barry yet."

He looked puzzled at my request. "Can I ask why? The longer I wait to apologize for being the biggest idiot on the planet, the more likely he'll be to run me over with his car."

"Biggest idiot in the universe," I corrected, but answered his question. "I need to figure some stuff out before I talk to him, I think."

He gave me a long look. "Is it about Dan?" 

I sighed and nodded. "I don't want to talk to Barry, or Dan for that matter, until I get myself figured out first. It wouldn't be fair to either of them if I found out they both had feelings for me, but I just sat around some more and dithered about what I wanted to do about it."

"That's really thoughtful of you, Sunny" Ross said, looking both impressed and slightly bemused.

"Thanks, well, I like to think I'm better than just playing head games with people." I said, dryly.

He had the consideration to look ashamed.

"So will you hold off on telling him?" I asked, taking a swig of my beer.

He nodded, still looking like a puppy who'd had an accident in the house.

"Oh, and one more thing." I said, and poked him chest again, lighter this time. "You should apologize to Dan for fighting with him. Its not his fault you're a complete asshole."

Once again, Ross agreed. I made him a cup of coffee, made sure he was okay to drive and sent him home.

  


I was the one on someone’s doorstep early the next morning. I knocked on the door, pleased that it had only taken a really good facial wash and some creative make-up techniques to remove the evidence of the previous nights’ tears. Arin answered the door in pajama bottoms, as he almost always was when he was at home, but I knew he was expecting me. I’d messaged Suzy the night before to be sure I wouldn’t be interrupting any plans by coming over.

“Hey,” Arin said, gesturing me inside. “We’re in the living room.”

Suzy was sitting on the couch with no make-up on. She smiled and invited me to come sit next to her. I did and Arin sat on my other side.

“I’m gonna take a guess and say that this is about what we talked about the other day?” She asked and reached over to hold my hand.

I clung to it gratefully. “Yes, there’s a lot I didn’t know.” I retold what I had gone through since coming to work with the Grumps for Arin’s sake, then continued on to explain Ross’ side of the story. They both looked astonished.

“I knew Ross was being a prick lately,” Arin said, crossing his arms over his big barrel-chest.

“But what do I do now?” I asked, running my free hand through my hair. Suzy squeezed my hand and looked suddenly uncomfortable. 

“Well, I think we can put your other question to rest.” She said and glanced at Arin.

I blinked, “Other question?”

A dull flush rose in Suzy’s pale cheeks. “We know whether Dan has feelings for you.”

My stomach flipped, eyes widening. “What? How long have you known?”

Suzy bit her lip and Arin piped up. “Well, we should probably start from the beginning too….”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I really hope you guys are still enjoying my story. But I'm still pretty sick and, unfortunately, this is the only chapter I'll be posting today. Keep reading and voting and I'll be back to bring you a brand new BTS chapter tomorrow. I love you all! XO -ELH


	35. Can't Fight This Feeling - Behind the Scenes with Arin Hanson and Suzy Berhow

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, guys! Thanks for being patient with me while I got this chapter up. It's a double length, BTS chapter with Suzy and Arin. I decided to get more creative with the writing and have it be more conversational. I hope it doesn't suck too bad. In case it's not totally clear, Arin is in bold and Suzy is plain text.  
> I should also say that reader (Sunny) is gonna be back for at least a couple good chapters before we have any more BTS stuff. So, you have that to look forward to. :)  
> And finally, another poll update: There are two options that are the clear front-runners. Here's a sneak peak at the standings:  
> 1\. Both or Neither 35%  
> 2\. Dan or Barry 34%  
> 3\. Dan or Barry 18%  
> 4\. Both or Neither 12%  
> That not clear enough for you? Well, without giving away too much, it means that one of the guys has fallen way behind and so has one of the other options! Don't forget to keep voting! Thanks for continuing to read LotL! XOXO -ELH  
> Poll: http://goo.gl/q1KPhJ

**Well, Sunny, I guess the first thing you should know is that Dan hasn’t been in a lasting serious relationship in years.**

**He got burned by love one time too many before moving out to California and he just stopped trying. Honestly, it turned him into a dude who was driven by hopeful ambition in his work life and was a detached lust-machine in his sex life. The only times he faltered in this kind of thought-process was when he spent enough time with someone for him to realized that he cared about them. I’ve only seen that happen twice; once with me, once with Barry.**

**After lunch on the day we met you, Dan mention to me that he thought you were sexy. And at that point, I thought like Ross did. That he just wanted to get in your pants, because as Ross told you, he wanted to get in everyone’s pants. Anyway, after you caught Ross and Barry in the storage room, Barry came to me and Dan to tell us what happened.**

**Dan went to you immediately, to make sure you were okay. But when he came back to talk to me after, he looked like he’d been hit in the back of the head with a brick. All spacey and dazed, you know? He told me you guys had a hot courtyard make-out sesh, and that you were cool with the whole polyamory thing.**

**He messaged everyone that you were down to clown with it. But he didn’t tell anyone else that he had kissed you.**

**I didn’t realize how fucking weird that was until much later. Dan doesn’t mind talking about his conquests, never has. Even when he was with me or Barry, he didn’t have a filter when it came to the other Grumps. Him keeping your little moment a secret was the first indicator that he wasn’t being his normal self with you.**

Arin had told me, though, and I thought it was kind of nice that he hadn’t blabbed like usual.

The next day, Dan told us that Barry had spent half the night cooking up some plan about you and that we should watch the security cameras when they finally got into the office. I think his exact words were “I don’t want to miss a show like that.” We thought ‘Okay, typical horny Danny’ but we were intrigued too. I mean, you are super cute.

We watched Barry and Ross come into the office in the late afternoon and we all made a beeline for the computer in the production room.

Here’s the thing, though; after we switched on camera feed to see what was happening, he couldn’t watch. It didn’t take a genius to see that he was both very jealous and very aroused. He just sat in the chair in front of the computer and watched the little light in the corner of the monitor while he listened to the sounds you were making. He didn’t look back up until after you had, uh, finished.

He didn’t know I’d seen him looking away and I was totally confused when after that he began to brag like he couldn’t tear his eyes away for one second of the ‘crazy hot action.’ I didn’t know if he was being sweet or just being an ass, you know?

**A week after that, at the NSP dinner, that’s when he couldn’t take his eyes off of you.**

**He told Suzy and me that even if it killed him, he was going to take you home that night. So, to trip him up a bit for fun, Suzy and I interrupted your dance at the club. Sorry about that, by the way. After the toast, the three of us saw you talking to Mark. As a joke, I told Dan that his pussy was getting away. Yea, I know it was rude. Dude, don’t look at me like that, Sunny. I was kidding, I swear.**

**Anyway, that just made him more determined than ever. Dan secretly has a thing about being first. He had been more than pleased at being the first person he knew to kiss you, and then… Well, I got a text from him after he’d whisked you away. It said, “First again. I’m gonna rock this girl’s world.”**

Only I don’t think that went according to Danny’s plan.

He called us the next morning, while he was waiting at the airport before he got on his flight, which is a, like, ritual for him. After we asked him how it went with you, he didn’t want to talk about it. But eventually, we wheedled him enough for him to say that, of course, he’d sealed the deal. When Arin asked for details, Danny said “nothing too interesting.” 

Sunny, don’t look so indignant. He didn’t mean it. Right after that, he admitted that he almost said, “God, I love you” when he came. Obviously, that’s a little more than interesting. Though, he did try to play it off and make a joke about it afterward, to convince us he didn’t care.

**Except it didn’t work.**

**Few people know Dan better than me, and Suzy has a certain way of reading people. So we already knew he liked you more than he was letting on. A few hours later, when he’d gotten wind that you were off the grid, he almost had a meltdown. He called me, demanding that we go find you.**

**Honestly, I think he felt really helpless for the first time in ages. You were hours away, missing for all intents and purposes in his eyes, and he had no way to get to you.**

**The only reason he didn’t completely lose it on us was because we told him that Holly had already messaged us that she and Ross were gonna swing by your place. But he refused to get off the phone with us until your mass-text came through. He didn’t want to be alone with the thoughts that something might have happened to you.**

He probably tried to play that one off with you too, didn’t he, Sunny?

Anyway, he seemed to chill out a little once he was back home. But he wasn’t happy. I guess he could tell something weird was going while he was away and he didn’t like it one bit.

The night you came with us- I mean, came over here. Ugh, the night you hung out with us, I asked you something as you were falling asleep, do you remember what it was?

No? Well, I asked who you thought was the sexiest Grump. Just as a joke, of course, but you didn’t hesitate when you said Dan.

Coincidentally, after you left the next morning, Danny showed up. Arin told him what you said. You should have seen him, Sunny. He went completely scarlet! He tried to play this off too, but we just wouldn’t let him. Finally, after literally HOURS of annoying him, he admitted that he cared about you. That he didn’t just see you as another notch in his belt-buckle, so to speak. He was thinking about telling you, but wasn’t sure how to go about it.

**The day you came in to work sick, it didn’t surprise us at all that he wanted to be the one to take care of you.**

**Suzy told him after he’d gotten you in the car, not to go confessing anything to you while you were incapacitated. And Dan agreed with her, because he didn’t want you to say anything you didn’t mean while your brain was all loopy.**

**The next day, though, he showed up at the Grump Space looking low, man. He looked worse than I’d seen him since we cranked out the recordings for the last Starbomb album. He’d barely slept, and I could tell he was down about something.**

**After taking him aside, he tells me that he thought you might have feelings for Barry instead of him. He told me about what happened at his house and then asked me for some advice on what to do.**

**I told him, “If you think she likes someone else, you don’t want to push her. But I wouldn’t hesitate to let her know she’s special. Only wait long enough for her to give you a good opportunity.”**

That’s when Dan and Arin came up with the idea of Dan giving you a gift of some kind.

It took the rest of the week for them to decide on a necklace. At the time, I had been working on mounting one of my bugs. I had taken a bunch of stars and a moon off a charm bracelet I’d found in an antique store. All that was left was the sun, and since I was doing a night themed piece, I didn’t need it. I gave it to Dan, who said it was perfect. Arin suggested that he put it on one of the spare chains had for his own necklace, and he thought that was an even better idea. I think he really liked the thought of you wearing something of his all the time.

I warned him that he shouldn’t give you the necklace until he was sure you didn’t have feelings for Barry. But when you came in the next Monday, you said you’d spent the weekend with Dan. And I saw the pendant around your neck.

I thought Dan had actually expressed his feelings to you. And I was so excited for you that I couldn’t help but tease you. I was so disappointed to hear that not only had Dan left before he could talk to you, but he’d just left the necklace in your apartment!

**Suzy was a bit invested in this by that point, as you can probably tell.**

**However, she was overjoyed as she watched Dan becoming more bold with his affections for you over the next week. Though, I think she nearly died of disappointment when you decided you weren’t going to the party.**

**Ow, Suze. Don’t flick me, I’m trying to tell a story.**

**But she had resolved herself to giving you a full play-by-play of the event, to impress on you the fact that Dan hadn’t so much as looked at anyone else in a sexual way the whole night.**

**As I said before, my man had been kind of a pussy hound. Or, you know, whatever the equivalent of a pussy hound is for polyamorous bisexuals. I’ve never really thought about it. Anyway, it was out of the ordinary for him to be so reserved is what I’m trying to say. He didn’t flirt with anyone. He just chatted with people and messed around on his phone the whole night.**

**When Dan and I discussed your little domination incident with Brian before the next Grump meeting, it was clear as crystal to me that my bro had fallen for you, hard. He tried to say that he was proud of you for exploring your sexuality, but all I could see on his face was jealousy. He wouldn’t admit it when I called him on it, and that’s why I brought it up at the meeting. Uh, sorry for that too.**

Yea, you can be a bit of an ass sometimes too, Arin.

Anyway, Sunny, so you know the next day when I had you come get lunch with me and then you brought everything up so I could give you advice?

Well, what I didn’t know was that at the same time, Dan had gone to Arin to tell him all about you two in the recording room. And I’m telling you this verbatim, he said-

**Shouldn’t I tell her what he said, verbatim, since I was the one who was actually there?**

Uh, yea, I guess.

**Thanks.**

**So, right. During lunch, Dan said he couldn’t take it anymore. He had confronted you about your feelings for Barry and had told you he didn’t care. Here’s the verbatim part. He said “Dude, I’m in love with her. I don’t care if I have to help her get over someone else. I just want to be near her and make sure she’s happy.”**

When you asked me for advice, I had no idea of the whole spectrum of things. So, when I told you I’d get back to you, it was me just buying time so I could talk to Dan and ask whether he wanted me to give you a hint for how he felt about you.

But he told me no. He said he wanted to tell you himself. Only I don’t think he’d gathered enough courage in the last two weeks to spit it out…

You’re not mad at me for not telling you before now, right?


	36. Nerves

“No, Suze. I’m not mad.” How could I be mad? Dan loved me. Barry loved me. I had two smart, charming, talented, handsome, sexy men that both had feelings for me. Being mad after learning that would be like taking a beautiful, freshly-baked cake with my name written on it and throwing it directly in the trash.

I was having a bit of an information overload, however. I wasn’t sure how I had managed to snag the affections of one guy, let alone two.

And the question still remained: What the hell do I do now?

At the moment, all I wanted to do was cry. Or hit something. Or run away to avoid doing something stupid. Though, I suppose running away would be the stupidest thing I could do. That would help nothing.

I freed my hand from Suzy’s and rose to move around the coffee table so I could pace. I suddenly felt full of a kind of manic energy. Dan, Barry. Barry, Dan. Arin and Suzy watched me make my circuitous route with concern etched on their faces.

“Should we… I mean, is there anything we can do to help?” Suzy asked, tentatively. I shook my head, stopping in my tracks.

“I’m tired of pushing my feelings aside or tamping them down. The only problem is- I don’t know how to feel.” I admitted with a sigh.

Arin got up and moved over to me. To my utter surprise, he wrapped his big arms around me and enveloped me in a huge hug. Just a moment’s hesitation passed before I returned his embrace with a small smile. “Thanks, Arin.”

“Listen, dude.” He said, his chin moving against the side of my head. “Everyone in the Grumps cares about you. I think you know that by now. We all want you to be happy. You just have to ask yourself, what’s going to make me happy right now?” His goatee tickled my scalp as he talked, and I thought over his words carefully.

Finally, I broke away from his hug and looked between him and Suzy. “I may not know what I want to do about my feelings right now, but I do know that I hate not talking to Barry.” I thought hard for a minute before adding. “I just don’t know if I should do that in front of Dan.”

Suzy pondered over this, too. “You could ask him to hang out somewhere neutral, like the movies.”

“Dan might think that’s a date.” Arin put in.

We were all three silent as we thought it over.

“I think the easiest thing,” Arin said after the pause. “Is if you just talk to him at work as if nothing ever happened.”

Suzy and I both tried to see if there were any flaws in this plan.

“As long as you’re not overly-friendly, if you know what I mean. Maybe do it when Dan is busy recording with Arin?” Suzy added.

I nodded. It didn’t sound half bad. And it couldn’t hurt to try. After all, now that I knew the truth, I missed Barry’s friendship with a fierceness that tore at my heart.

Suddenly, I turned and flung my arms back around Arin’s neck for another hug. Then I flew around the coffee table and nearly crushed Suzy with the embrace I gave her.

“Seriously, thank you guys so much,” I said into Suzy’s hair. “I don’t know where I’d be without you.”

When I pulled back, Suzy looked surprised and touched. “Anytime, Sunny. Really.”

  


Another Monday rolled around and I was a ball of nervous tension. I had tried convince myself that everything would be fine, but yesterday morning was spent collecting scenarios in my head of all the ways this could go wrong. I had escaped my apartment not long after, for a new distraction in the form of retail therapy. My only comfort before the Grump meeting started was that I looked positively adorable.

L.A. had gotten absolutely sweltering within the last few days, so my new eyelet lace tank-top felt appropriate. Of course, I had to carry a sweater with me to combat the chilly office air conditioning but, since that was new too, I didn’t mind so much. In fact, everything I was wearing was new from my head to my toes. I’d even gotten my hair trimmed and I styled it this morning.

On the outside, I felt fantastic, as clean as confident as can be. Inside, however, my stomach was all twisted up and uncomfortable. Suzy must have picked up on this when I sat down between her and Kevin. The first thing she did was pay me a compliment, sort of. “Looking good, Sunny. Special occasion?”

“Shut up, Suze.” I said under my breath and she laughed.

By instinct, my chest tightened when Barry and Dan sat down. I pretended to focus on my planner instead of looking at either of them. I could feel a flush creeping up my neck. Luckily, though, nothing interesting happened during the meeting and I was able to act relatively normal. After that, I went straight to my desk to start up some paperwork. I felt a desperate need to keep my mind busy.

I worked like a fiend and by the time I looked up, an hour had passed. I spun around in my chair and looked around the Grump space. Everyone was either busy or away. Kevin was editing, as always. Ross was doing a test-play with Vernon in the sitting area. Dan and Arin were undoubtedly in the recording room. Suzy, I knew, was off running errands for her own channels and Brian wasn’t in the office today.

And Barry. Barry was sitting at his desk with headphones on. From where my own desk was, I couldn’t see his face over his triple-monitor set-up. I took a calming breath and rolled my chair across the room. He was so focused on what he was doing that he didn’t notice when I pulled up beside him.

I poked him gently on the arm. “Whatcha working on?”


	37. Know

Barry turned to me, his blue-green eyes widened and blinked several times in quick succession. He pulled down his headphones from his ears. “What?”

I gave him a little smile.  “I asked what you were working on,” I said, my voice so low that it was barely more than a whisper. “Is it the game you’re developing?”

He swallowed and nodded. “Uh, yea.” He smiled back at me slowly. “You wanna see it?”

“Sure,” I said with a little more enthusiasm.

He moved over and pulled my chair in front of the screens. He grabbed my hand and put it over the mouse and I felt my heart pick up to beat a rapid thrum against my breastbone. 

“Should I show you the testing demo?” He asked. His tone was also soft, hesitant. I nodded encouragement. He told me where to click and which keys to use. Then he took his headphones from around his neck and put them over my head. I smiled at him again and then tried to focus on his game.

As beautiful and interesting as it was already , it was hard to keep my concentration. I could feel Barry’s eyes on me. After my character died enough times to give me a Game Over, I turned to him.

“I’m afraid I’m not very good. But it looks wonderful, Bear.” I said, reaching over to give his arm a pat. He snatched my hand in mid-motion and held it.

“I’m glad you like it. I can show you again sometime, once I’ve worked on it some more.” He said, his voice was rumbly and deep. My mind flashed back to the storage room almost three months ago. His voice had sounded exactly the same.

Warning bells went off in my head. I shouldn’t get overly-friendly, that’s what Suzy had said.

I squeezed Barry’s hand a little before gently disengaging myself from his grip. “That’s sounds great.” I said, my voice sounding tight. I cleared my throat and grinned at him. “Well, back to work!” I handed back his headphones and slid my chair back over to my desk.

  


Both of us went back to work, but every so often I would look over at him and he would already be watching at me. We’d share a brief, awkward smile and then we’d go back to working. After a few hours, lunch time came and I sank into the relieving clamor of the other Grumps as they laughed and complained while they waited for Suzy to arrive with the food. Dan sauntered over to me with one of his usual, playful smirks.

“Hey there, Sunny-girl.” He drawled, tucking a lock of hair behind my ear.

“Hi, Danny.” I breathed, fighting to act as I always did when he made one of his flirtatious come-ons.

He grinned down at me. “Are you having a nice day?”

“Of course,” I said, and I couldn’t help but to glance over to where Barry and Ross were sitting on the couch, chatting. I felt a sudden need to be honest with Dan. After all, he was always looking out for me. I didn’t want to repay such kindness with falsehood. I looked back at Dan and said with a meaningful tone, “Actually, it’s been a little more interesting. I got to play a demo of Barry’s game.”

Dan’s face went blank for a moment. “You’re talking to Barry again?”

“Yes,” I told him, touching his arm. “Things haven’t exactly been as I thought they were. It’s a long story.”

Dan’s mouth drew up. His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed, his eyes turned guarded. “Are you going to tell me this story?”

The smile I gave him was as reassuring as I could make it. “Absolutely. I could come over after work?”

“Barry will be there.”

“That’s fine. I should talk to both of you, if that’s okay. I think we all need to clear the air.” There was sudden conviction I felt as these words left my mouth.

Dan reached up to cup my face in his hand. “Okay, if that’s what you think we should do.” I nodded into his touch. He gave me a fleeting smile and moved away to talk to Arin.

I looked back over to Barry. His eyes were trained on me once again. But he wasn’t smiling at me anymore. He looked tense.

My eyes flicked to Ross, beside him, who was talking but looking down at his hands, shamefacedly.

My gut tightened. I turned away from Barry’s heated stare. It was a look that said, quite plainly, ‘I know that you know.’ So much for holding off on telling him.

“Goddammit, Ross.” I muttered under my breath. After a short internal deliberation, I decided that, all of the sudden, I felt like going out for lunch.

  


Near the end of the day, I grabbed my purse and sneaked into the Grump Space bathroom. I was trying to gather my courage about facing Dan and Barry together in their house. Mentally, I thanked Arin for giving me a set of the office keys and security codes because I thought I might be in there for a little while.

After at least twenty minutes of leaning over the sink and looking at myself in the mirror, the door was wrenched open. I gave a little shriek and whirled around. Barry was framed in the doorway, the lights of the main room all switched off behind him.

“Oh, hi.” I said, shakily. “Did Dan tell you I was coming over to talk to you two? I didn’t know you were waiting for me.”

“No, I didn’t know that.”

“Well,” I said, taking deep breaths to try to calm myself down. “If you give me just a minute, we can head on over.”

“I’ve got to do something first.”

He crossed the few feet betweens us and jerked me into his arms before kissing me like a man possessed. Shocked and more than a little afraid, I tried to push him away. After a moment, he seemed to come back to himself. His grip on me loosened some and his mouth became much softer.

He broke away, his breathing ragged. “I’m sorry.” He said, swallowing heavily. “Actually, I’m not. I just had to do that. I love you.” He touched my face, gently. “I’ll meet you at the house.”

He left. And I had to take another ten minutes just so I would stop shaking.


	38. Confusion

What the fuck? I mean, what the actual fuck just happened? 

After Barry left, I sat on the closed toilet lid cover and just stared at the bathroom’s tiled walls for a while. Of all the things I thought I could expect from Barry Kramer, bursting into our office bathroom, violently kissing me and finally confessing his feelings then promptly leaving before I could respond was simply not on the list. I’d rather thought he’d be a bit more subtle, and perhaps a little more romantic.

My ever-reoccurring question cropped up again. What do I do now? How was I supposed to go over to his house to talk to him and Dan after that?

I could hear my text tone going off in my purse and I bent down to retrieve my phone numbly. I had several, back-to-back messages coming in from Ross.

“I’m sorry. I told Barry everything.”

Gee, thanks, dipshit. Oddly enough, I’d figured that out on my own.

“He could tell I was lying when I said I didn’t know why you were suddenly talking to him again.”

Oh, NOW you can’t keep things from him? You just can’t mind your own fucking business for more than 48 hours at a time.

“To be fair, he gave me a black eye for everything I did.”

Wait, what? I tried to recall whether I’d seen Ross when I’d gotten back from lunch today.

I hadn’t.

I didn’t really feel sorry for Ross, I realized. He kind of deserved it for being such a meddling piss-weasel. I vaguely remember entertaining thoughts about strangling Ross just two days ago when I’d found out about what he’d done. So, I don’t think I could really fault Barry for actually punching him when he found out too.

But could I fault him for what he just did to me? I tried to put myself in his shoes as I reviewed the events of the day. We’d shared our first words in almost a month, which had undoubtedly been pretty confusing on his end. Then he’d watched Dan and I, presumably doing our usual flirting, while Ross explained that Barry and I would probably be dating right now if not for his absolutely terrible advice. And then I’d bolted away like a skittish colt, leaving him no chance to talk to me alone for hours.

Honestly, if I was in Barry’s place, my emotions would have probably been running high all day. Perhaps I couldn’t blame him for directing those emotions in the wrong way. After all, who wasn’t guilty of having an outburst every once in a while? It was probably worse for Barry because he was often so sedate in personality.

My phone buzzed again in my hand and I jumped. I’d completely forgotten I was holding it. The message was from Dan this time.

“Are you coming over? You’re right, we do need to talk.”

Oh, Jesus Christ on a crutch! What now?

I reread the text several more times and then looked at the time. Holy shit, I’d been hiding in this bathroom for over an hour.

I nearly tripped on my own feet as I scrambled to stand up. I snatched up my purse and left the office, locking up behind me. Once I got in my car, I didn’t allow my brain to work any more than it needed to for me to speed toward Dan and Barry’s house, but when I pulled into their driveway it clicked back on on its own.

Why had I raced over here? I had the sick sense of nausea that washes over you when you feel like something bad is about to happen. But my words to Dan from before lunch floated back into my head. “I think we all need to clear the air.”

Well, we sure did. I took a deep breath. I got out of my car and made my way up the path to their front door. My hands were trembling as I knocked, and then I clenched them down by my sides. 

Dan opened the door and let me in without a word. I stepped into the empty living room and looked around, my nerves jangling. Barry was no where to be seen. His door was open and no sound came out of his room. I turned to Dan, and he was watching me with a wide grin on his face. I took a moment to look him over.

His wild curls were sticking up every which way, as through he’d been running his hands through it over and over. He wasn’t wearing a jacket and his t-shirt was wrinkled over one shoulder and wet on the other. My eyes went back to his face with a questioning look.

He was taking measured breaths, his grin hadn’t faltered even while I stared at him in bewilderment. He opened his arms for me and I went into them automatically. We stood there like that, just hugging for a minute before I pulled back to look up at him.

“What’s going on, Dan? Where’s Barry?”

He closed his eyes and gently touched his forehead to mine, his face going serene. “He left about five minutes ago.”

“What? Why?”

“Well, you took so long to get here and clear the air with us, that we ended up starting the conversation without you. Barry told me the entire Ross story, which explains why he decked him. Then I let him know my side of things. And then he told me about why you were probably stalling on getting your cute ass over here.”

Dan’s eyes opened as I moved out his embrace to stare at him, confused.

“He says he’s sorry, by the way. He knows that wasn’t the right way to go about getting his feelings out in the open.” Dan said, and he was smiling at me again.

“Why did he leave then? Why didn’t he tell me that himself?” I asked, wondering if I’d accidentally taken drugs or something. Everything felt so strange and disorienting.

Dan’s hand reached out to stroke along my jaw with his thumb. “He said I deserved a chance to let you know how I feel.” His dark brown eyes glinted with amusement. “I promise I won’t attack you, at least.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wait, whaaaaaatt? :D  
> I didn't have anything else to say. Just that! Hope you guys are still enjoying, we're about to get to more of the good stuff again! ;)


	39. Challenge

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this update is a bit late. This chapter was surprisingly hard to write. I decided I wanted to have a bit more fun before we got to the finale. :) Hope you're still enjoying. XOXO -ELH

Dan’s arms came around me and pulled me closer. He looked down at me tenderly. His head dipped toward me slowly and my breath caught. This was it.

In a sudden tangle of flailing limbs, he twisted and flipped us both over the back of the couch. When we landed on the soft cushions, I squealed loudly. Dan was laughing, lying on top of me.

“Danny!” I screeched and he only laughed harder. “You are such a jerk!” I started giggling too. I tried to wriggle to get out of his grip, but he had me  completely  pinned. He reached one hand up to smooth the hair back from my face.

“I’m sorry, baby.” His eyes were glittering at me, his smile playful. “You looked just like a lost puppy, and I couldn’t help it.”

“So you decided to give me a heart-attack instead? That’s exactly what you said you wouldn’t do.” I said, trying to be stern but not being able to manage it.

His face softened and he rested his hand gently over my heart. His face leaned close again, his lips brushing mine as he responded. “Maybe. What would happen to it if I told you that I’m in love with you?”

It skipped and then sped up at double the pace. He pulled his face back and his grin returned, triumphant as he felt my heart fluttering beneath his fingers.

“Don’t look so cocky,” I said, and pinched him a little with one of my trapped hands. “I already knew that.”

He wet his lips as he gazed down at me, “Yea? Well, do you have anything to say about that, Sunny-girl?”

The front door banged open and I shot up so fast, Dan and I knocked heads.

“Ow! Barry! Dan said you left!”

Barry looked down at us, a case of beer in his hand. “Didn’t he mention that I was coming right back?” He asked with an eyebrow cocked up. He turned away to go put the beer in the fridge. “You could have at least waited for me.”

I pushed Dan off of me and glared at him. Then Barry’s second sentence filtered into my brain. “Wait, what?”

Dan rubbed his forehead. He looked to Barry as he grimaced. “I guess I got a little caught up in our conversation.”

Barry came around the couch, smiling, with three beers and set them on the coffee table. 

“Did he get around to telling you that we talked before you got here?” He sat down on my other side, popped the cap off a bottle and handed it to me.

I nodded, looking down, mind becoming more confused with every word spoken. “Yea, but he didn’t really expound on it.”

“Sunny,” Barry said and twined his fingers though mine on my free hand, “Dan and I have been roommates for a while now. We’ve been the best of friends and more besides. We know how to get down to brass tacks pretty quickly.”

I blinked down at my beer. “I have absolutely no idea what that is supposed to mean.”

In my peripheral vision, I watched as Dan grabbed his own beer off the table and put it to the spot where we’d bumped heads. “He means that we both know that we’re in love with you. I know you have feelings for him and he knows that you have feelings for me.”

My throat felt all dry and sandpapery. I took a swig from my bottle. “So what now?”

Barry squeezed my hand. “That’s kind of up to you.” He said, his tone soft.

What did I want to do? I hadn’t really gotten that far in my thought process. I’d started talking to Barry again, and I didn’t need to ‘clear the air’ with either of them anymore. So, now what?

Dan lifted my chin and turned my face to his. “We’re not going to pressure you, Sunny. All the options are yours. We’re not going to hold anything against you, whatever you decide.”

Decide what? What were the options? Dan, Barry, neither? Both? Now that was an interesting thought. A scary one, too.

“Anyway,” Barry said, reaching over both of us for the TV remote that was sitting on the arm of the couch beside Dan. I turned away from Dan, who I’d been staring at while I thought, to look at Barry instead. “We don’t have to talk about it tonight. Let’s just hang out.” He smiled, warmly.

“Um, okay.” I said, and I felt both of them relax on either side of me. My thoughts were slowly starting to pick up the pace again. I tried to wrap my mind around this whole conversation. Things had taken extreme turn for the better, I think. But I definitely wanted to mull this over some more. So I decided to take Barry up on his offer and just put those questions out of my mind for the moment. Well, all except one.

I turned back to Dan with eyebrows raised. “So, what happened to your shirt?”

He popped the cap off his beer and took a long, slow pull. He gave me a devious grin I recognized immediately. “That’s what happened after Barry and I ‘got down to brass tacks’. Why? Do you want me to show you?”

My eyes widened. “What, so you kissed and made up?” I asked, the thought stirring something deep in my belly.

Barry laughed. “After everything you’ve been through since starting work with us, THAT’S what surprises you?”

Finally, I laughed, too. “I guess not. Not anymore anyway.” I said, squeezing Barry’s hand and leaning my head on Dan’s shoulder. “I doubt anything will ever surprise me again.”

My head vibrated as Dan started to chuckle. “That sounds like a challenge to me.”

“Yea,” Barry agreed. “But I’m not sure she can handle being really surprised by either of us.”

I stopped laughing and pulled away from both of them, indignantly. “What’s that supposed to mean, Kramer?”

Barry’s blue-green eyes twinkled at me as he smiled mischievously. It was a look I would normally credit to Ross or Dan, not him. “I just mean that Dan and I can be really creative thinkers when we want to be, Sunny. If we wanted to surprise you, it wouldn’t be very hard.”

I raised my eyebrows at him this time, smirking at the confidence on his face. “Alright, fine. How about you put your money where your mouth is? Here’s the challenge for you. Whoever can surprise me with a kiss tomorrow at work can take me on a real date.”


	40. Game

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, my darling lovelies! I'm so sorry that I've gone two whole days without an update! I feel terrible but sometimes life just gets crazy. I promise after I get some stuff done around my house, I'll get a 2nd chapter up today. Thanks for understanding. <3  
> Also, the poll is now closed. We've still got a few chapters to go before the finale, but there's already a clear winner. So I hope you were confident in your votes in the chapters to come. ;) Love you all. Hope you continue to enjoy! XOXO -ELH

Barry’s confidence faded somewhat, but Dan was laughing again.

“That’ll be too easy. Right, Bear?” He said, reaching over me to nudge Barry’s shoulder playfully. Barry’s smile recovered.

“Of course, no problem.”

“You’re gonna end up going out with both of us.” Dan smiled, running a long finger up and down my arm.

I shivered and pulled the TV remote from Barry’s hand, in an almost disinterested fashion. “Alright then, whoever does it first gets to tie me up and do whatever they want with me after the date.” I said casually, and then flipped on the television.

Neither of them had any sassy comebacks this time. Dan’s finger had frozen just above my elbow and Barry’s body seemed to have seized up beside mine. I grinned to myself and found a channel I liked. I’m not sure either of them even heard me when I muttered under my breath, “Let the games begin.”

  


Tuesday was the first rare, stormy day in L.A. since I’d moved there. I didn’t know if was the weather or the challenge I’d put forth but the moment I got into work I was on high alert. My ears heard every footstep and my eyes caught every shift in my peripheral vision. The last thing I wanted was to make it too easy on the guys, because I was pretty interested to see who wanted it more. 

It was fairly difficult to divide my attention between work and trying to sense whether someone was sneaking up behind me. But I made the effort, nonetheless.

It paid off too. 

An hour before lunch, Dan had attempted to spin me in my chair and plant a kiss on me. I’d heard him coming, though, and had my hands over my mouth before he could lock lips with me. He ended up kissing the back of my hand, and pulled back looking surprised.

“Too slow,” I said through my fingers. My eyes conveyed the smile that he couldn’t see. I could hear Barry laughing from across the room. Dan looked down at me, hands on the armrests on either side of my chair.

“I’ll get you, babygirl. Don’t you worry.” He said, smiling even though I could tell he was a little disappointed.

He tried again when I was making coffee, and another time while I was filing paperwork. It was almost too bad Barry had already surprised me in the storage room before today; that one almost worked.

Speaking of Barry, I started to wonder if he was even going to try. So far it had only been Dan making the advances. That wasn’t too out of the ordinary since most of the time Danny exuded confidence like he expelled air from his lungs. But I didn’t think Barry would just give him a win without even making an effort.

As the end of the day neared, I began considering just letting Dan kiss me. After all, I wouldn’t have any fun if both of them lost. Then again, that wouldn’t be very fair. We could always come up with a different game if this one ended in a tie.

All those thoughts turned out to be unnecessary.

I had grabbed my purse and was walking out the door after another failed attempt from Dan. He was strolling beside me and laughing. “I can’t believe you dodged me every time. Do we get to keep playing tomorrow?”

“Maybe,” I giggled as we stepped out into the dreary evening drizzle. My hands came up to block my face from the rain when arms came around me out of nowhere. Lips met mine before I could even gasp.

When he released me, all I could do was gape. Barry smiled at me, chest thrown forward in pride. Dan was also standing, open mouthed. Finally, after a full minute of all three of us just standing there, getting wet, Barry said, “So, I win.”

Dan came to his senses first. “No fair, work is over.”

“She said at work, not during work.” Barry said, his face turning smug. “We’re still on office property.” I made a small noise of disbelief and smiled. Barry ran a hand over my damp cheek. “Can’t wait for Saturday, we’re gonna have a great time.” He turned to Dan. “I’ll meet you at home.”

He walked away. Dan and I looked at each other with wide eyes.

“He’s getting kind of good at kissing me, making little speeches and then high-tailing it. I’m not sure I’m a fan.” I admitted sarcastically and Dan snickered.

“I can’t say it wasn’t clever, waiting until you were distracted by me before he took his chance.” He told me with a shrug.

“Does that mean you aren’t mad that he won?” I asked, looking up into his face.

He made a face like he was thinking hard and then laughed. “Nah, after all, I get a date too, don’t I?”

“Oh, Danny. Don’t you remember? You have to kiss me first.” I told him and moved into his arms.

He grinned and dipped his head.  “Gladly.”

  


I paced in my living room at 6 o’clock on Saturday, feeling vaguely nauseated. There was something about being alone for hours on end with Barry that still made me feel a little afraid. There was still so much that had been left unsaid between us, and I had no doubt they’d come up in conversation tonight. Not to mention the fact that he had an open invitation to truss me up and have his way with me later.

My stomach flipped when I heard his knock. I opened the door, saw his face and felt my anxiety fall away.

Barry stood on my doormat with sunflowers and a sweet smile. He was wearing a purple-and-black flannel button down, rolled up to his elbows, above dark-wash jeans. He’d gotten his hair cut and the trim line of his beard was sharper than I’d ever seen it. He looked wonderful.

“Hi, Bear.” I said, smiling back at him. He simply stepped over the threshold and gathered me up for a long, lingering kiss.


	41. Mystery

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a little late, but here's the 2nd chapter I promised for today! Hope you guys enjoy and keep an eye out for the exciting event coming in tomorrow's chapter. ;)

When we broke apart, I sighed and leaned against him. I realized now that this closeness with Barry was something I had sorely missed. We’d gotten along so well before Ross had interfered in our friendship? Relationship? Whatever you wanted to call it, I found that what I wanted more than anything at this moment was to make up for lost time.

“Would you like to come in?” I asked. My voice had shot up an octave. Barry grinned and released me from his comforting embrace.

“Hmm, thank you, but no. I don’t want us to get too cozy and miss our reservations.” His voice had that rumbly quality that sent shivers through me.

“Reservations where?” I inquired and stepped over to grab my purse from the kitchen table.

Barry folded his arms over his chest, still smiling. “Can’t say.”

I raised an eyebrow at him. “Well, am I at least dressed appropriately for this mystery locale?”

He let his blue-green eyes travel down my body, lazily. I was wearing a pale pink dress, decorated with bright red roses and green leaves, and the strappy sandals I’d worn on the first day I’d met the Grumps. My hair was curled and pinned back from my face and I carried a light, white sweater over my arm. As Barry’s gaze fixed back on my face, I felt myself blush.

“You look beautiful.” He said and then offered me his arm. “Let’s go.” I grinned and flipped the lights off. Then I linked my arm with his, locking the door on the way out.

  


We drove half an hour from my apartment into West Los Angeles. Barry was behind the wheel, since he wanted our destination to be a surprise until the very last moment. We made small talk, catching up on little things that we’d missed in each other’s lives while we hadn’t been speaking. Occasionally, when we were stopped at a red light, he’d reach over to touch my hair, face, arm. He acted as though he couldn’t help himself, like it was a compulsion to touch me in any way he could. A jolt ran through me every time he did.

Finally, we pulled in front of a swanky-looking Italian restaurant and I looked over to Barry curiously.

“All this secrecy for a little pasta?” I asked, and then pressed my lips together to keep a giggle from escaping.

He raised an eyebrow and his sweet smile turned slightly devious. “It’s not just pasta.”

“Pasta and bread-sticks?”

Barry burst into laughter. “No, Sunny. Just come on.” He came around the side of the car as I got out and held my hand as we walked inside. 

We entered the restaurant and my eyes went wide as they fell upon a sign just inside the door. “Murder-Mystery Dining: tonight!”

“Oh, my God! Seriously?” I asked, turning to Barry excitedly.

He grinned. “Are you up for it?”

I threw my arms around his neck. “I’ve always wanted to do something like this! How did you know?”

“I didn’t.” He said, lifting me from the ground and laughing into my hair. “I just thought we could have one last night of lies and mystery between us.” He set me down and looked at me with sincere eyes. “Because after tonight, I’m not going to keep anything from you ever again. I’m going to be up front about everything. I’m not going to let words go unspoken and ruin what I’d like to have with you, Sunny.” I flushed crimson and lowered my eyes from his.

A smiling hostess came over to greet us then. She guided us through the itinerary of events for the evening, gave us character sheets, instructions and tags for us to write our names on. I just wrote “Sunny” on mine, but Barry wrote “Barold” on his. I nearly giggled myself into tears as each new person we interacted with actually had to call him that. We milled around the room, holding hands, interrogating the other guests and chortling together anytime we met anyone who was acting particularly strange.

The rest of the evening was spent eating a sumptuous three-course dinner, and sleuthing out the many murders that began occurring just after we’d ordered our meal. At the end of the night, everyone present wrote down answers to the how the deaths occurred and tried their best to guess who the killer was. Prizes were awarded for the funniest or most accurate answers, and Barry won a ribbon for suggesting that the murderer was motivated by a repressed desire to run around town naked, singing show-tunes.

As Barry and I drove back, around 10:30, we laughed as we recounted all the hilarious people and situations we’d encountered. He cracked jokes as we got out of the car and walked to my door. The mood changed, however, the moment we stepped into the darkness of my apartment. The door snapped shut behind us.

“Thank you for such a great date, Bear.” I said, subconsciously lowering my voice to a whisper.

“Anytime, sweetheart.”

My hands reached out and found his arms in the blackness of the room. Then his chest. Then they wound behind his neck. I moved against him in the dark and pressed my lips to his. He sighed, pulling me closer.

My pulse quickened and I felt the uncomfortable wet sensation between my legs as he kissed me with the saccharine alacrity that I had missed for so many weeks. 

“Sunny,” he growled as he trailed his lips to my ear. “Take me to your room.”

I unlocked my arms from around his neck and let one hand run down his body to grab gently at the bulge in his jeans.

“Or you’ll what?” I asked, a challenge in my voice.

He made a low noise in his throat. “Or I’ll knock down every fucking thing in my way while I carry you there.”


	42. Spank

I shivered again at the husky rumble his tone had taken on. I shifted my hand from his crotch to his wrist and pulled him blindly through the living room to my bedroom door. I turned the knob and pulled him inside. 

I could see him much better in here. I’d left my bedside table  lamp on and the two of us were bathed in a warm yellow light.

I looked into Barry’s face, and his watched his eyes grow hungry as he scrutinized me. He pulled me back into his arms and captured me in an eager kiss.

I made a small whimper in my throat as his hands ran down my hips to grab my ass. We broke apart as we began pulling at each other’s clothes. I began unbuttoning his flannel shirt as I felt him pulling the zipper of my dress down along my spine. I kicked off my sandals and slid the straps off my shoulders, letting the dress slip to the floor. He froze halfway through pulling his arms out of his shirt-sleeves to stare at me.

I was wearing one of the lingerie sets I’d brought with Dan. It was a lacy, frilly pair of panties with a matching babydoll top in a shade of white that practically glowed in the lamp light.

“Holy shit.” Barry breathed and then threw his shirt to the ground. “If I’d known you were wearing that, I definitely would have skipped dinner.” I flushed again, pleased that he liked it. He toed off his shoes, nearly tripping, and approached me. His careful hands reached out to roam over my shoulders, down to my hips and up, beneath the babydoll, across my stomach. I sucked in a breath and I heard him chuckle as he let his fingers trail along my ribs.

“Is there a problem?” I asked, trying hard to keep my voice even.

He smiled and pulled me closer. His beard grazed along my cheek. “The opposite of one. But now I have to ask… Do you trust me, Sunny?”

I tensed. “Yes.”

“You’ll let me do whatever I want?”

“As long as it feels good.” I answered, biting my lip.

“Oh, it will. You know I’d never really hurt you, right?”

I swallowed. “Of course, Bear.”

He pulled back and his eyes locked on mine with a heat that made me nervous. “You mean you know it now.”

I nodded, mutely.

“Go lean against your bedpost.” He ordered.

My stomach and thighs clenched simultaneously. The growl of a voice Barry adopted when aroused held a hint of something I hadn’t heard before. And it wasn’t just that it was demanding, though that was strange enough. I obeyed, however, instead of arguing. I wrapped my hands around the wooden post and leaned forward, smiling slightly at the thought of the view that this position must afford him. I felt him approach me again, his hand smoothed down my spine and over my butt.

He slapped my ass twice. Hard.

I gasped and went to straighten up. He put a hand at my shoulder to keep me leaning and repeated the act on the other side.

“Barry!” I whined.

“Shh, Sunny. Listen to me.” He ran his hands over the globes of my butt, soothing the stinging flesh while he spoke. “The last time I was with you, something happened between us that I’ve never felt before.”

Four more sharp smacks landed on each of my ass cheeks and I gritted my teeth together. The pain was shifting into a burning feeling that wasn’t exactly unpleasant. Barry moved his hands over my skin and continued to talk between the spanking.

“I was already in love with you then, and I’ve never had sex like that. Sex that was so soft. So sweet… It’s not gonna be like that this time.”

Whap whap. Whap whap.

“Barry.” I groaned, flinching a little each time one of his strikes hit home and then grinding back into his touch. Every part of my butt was going to be cherry-red by the time he was done.

Whap whap. Whap whap.

“Shh. This time it’s gonna be harder, rougher. I’m about to show you that I can be anything you need from me.” My breathing hitched as he kneaded my butt, blew a cool stream of air across the scorching skin. “I can be soft, gentle. Make love to you. Or I can fuck you until you scream. Just like I’m about to do right now.” More slaps against my ass and I started to whimper. He reached forward and pulled me so that I was standing flush against him.

“I love you.” Barry growled into my ear. “I can give you anything you need.”

I shuddered in his grip. “B-but… I, I don’t need…”

“Don’t tell me you don’t want it like this. You’re soaking wet right now. I don’t even have to touch you to tell. I can smell how much you want me.”

I whimpered again. He was right. My damp panties were doing little to staunch the liquid excitement coating the insides of my thighs and the air already smelled like sex.

“I do. I do want you.” I said as his hands began roving over my torso again.

“I know, baby. I’ll give you what you want.” He took both my hands in one of his own and produced a long, thin, white piece of cloth, seemingly from nowhere. As he began to wind it around and between my wrists I recognized it as the scarf he wore on Table Flip.

“How long have you had that with you?” I asked, surprised.

“I told you tonight had some mysteries.” He finished tying my wrists together and spun me around so that I was facing him. “Test that knot.”

I tried to wriggle my hands free of the scarf. I couldn’t.

“Good. Now let the games begin.”

I froze as he threw my own words right back into my face.


	43. Choke

Barry grinned at my surprise and pulled me against him again. He kissed me greedily, his mouth moving with mine in a hotter, more intense way than what I was used to from him. He broke the kiss and gently pushed me to my knees. He pulled down his jeans and black boxer-briefs. 

I didn’t wait for his instruction. I leaned forward and wrapped my mouth around his dick. He hissed and his hands threaded into my hair. I rested my bound hands against his thigh as I began to work him with my mouth. He tasted faintly salty, but clean. His body had a different scent than Dan’s; less musky and more woodsy somehow, even though I know that Barry’s a city boy.

“Shit, yea.” He groaned and I glanced up to see him close his eyes. “That feels so fucking good.”

I hummed in response and his hips jerked forward. He hit my uvula and I gagged for a moment. Barry waited until I caught my breath and resumed my previous enthusiasm before moving again. He got a tighter grip on my hair and matched my pace with more little groans. The wetness between my legs felt like a torrent. It was so hot to watch him slowly come apart with only my mouth.

After a few minutes, Barry began probing a little deeper on every thrust. He hit the back of my throat again, I gagged, tears sparking in my eyes.

He looked down at me, stilling his hips with an obvious effort.

“It’s okay, baby. Relax your throat muscles and breathe through your nose. I want you to take all of me in your mouth.”

I blinked at him, unable to speak, since my mouth was full. But I felt a desperate desire to have him cum like this. I wanted to taste him, wanted to hear the sound he made when I swallowed him down. I did as he suggested and he began to move again, building a slow rhythm as he pumped closer and closer to my face.

This time when the head of his cock brushed against the back of my throat I willed it to remain relaxed, but for a moment I forgot how to breathe as Barry pushed into the channel of muscles that normally should not be blocked.

“Breathe, baby, breathe.” He told me, but didn’t seem to be able to stop the motion of his hips. I squeezed my eyes shut, and concentrated on pulling air into my lungs. I felt slightly helpless, not being able to grab onto anything. Saliva was everywhere; it bubbled around my lips and ran down my chin and neck. When I got my breathing under control, I looked back up at him hungrily. And I hummed again.

“Fuck!” He exclaimed and picked up his pace. He was holding my head in a vice grip as he plunged into my mouth and throat with abandon. “Here I come, baby.” He hissed through gritted teeth. He pumped two or three more times while I felt the hot burst of salty moisture exploding past my tonsils. I worked my throat muscles to swallow, and Barry must have felt it. He shot away from me, stumbling because his jeans were still around his ankles, pulling his cock from my lips and leaving a thin trail of semen across my chin. 

My chest heaved as we looked at each other. I reached up with my bound wrists and wiped my face with his scarf. Barry’s eyes narrowed.

“Naughty girl.” He panted. I grinned at him, not saying anything. My throat felt sore and a little abused.

He stepped out of his pants completely, still as hard as a railroad spike. Then he paused and bent down to retrieve a condom from his pocket. He moved back toward me, getting down on his knees. With hard, guiding hands, he made me lie down on my carpet. He yanked my panties away with one hand as he ripped the foil packet with his teeth. He rolled the condom on and pulled one of my legs into the air. He positioned himself at the entrance of my sex and looked at me with his blue-green eyes blazing with the same feeling I’d heard in his demanding tone before. It was possessive. Needy.

He pistoned his hips and slid in to the hilt. A strangled sounding moan escaped me. My throat was definitely wrecked. He pulled back and slammed in. My wrists strained against the scarf binding me as I tried to dig my elbows into the carpet. But as he rocketed back into me, I was slowly sliding further away from him.

He growled in frustration and pulled out. He flipped me over faster than a pancake. He hiked me up on my knees and elbows before stabbing into me again. I moaned and pushed back on him. His hands clutched at my waist and he pounded into me in a way that said very clearly, ‘I need you. I need you now and I don’t care about anything else.’

It scared me just as much as it excited me. Despite how much it hurt, moans and whimpers poured out of me in a nearly endless stream.

Barry reached a hand under the babydoll top I was still wearing and plucked at a nipple. I ground back on him even harder. He withdrew the hand and for a moment, his loud breathing was silenced, though he continued to buck against me.

Then a slippery wet finger slipped right into my asshole and I screamed. The broken, ragged sound ripping from me as my climax blindsided me. Barry came again, right behind me.

He pulled out and immediately flipped me back over. He undid the knot on the scarf and rubbed my wrists until the blood was circulating again. I surprised him by sitting up and flinging my arms around his neck.

“Barry Kramer, you big fucking idiot.” I said, voice almost non-existent now. “As hot as it was, you didn’t need to give me carpet burn just to prove your versatility. I love you because you’re so sweet, not because I need you to have sex with me while playing poker and doing jumping jacks.”

“You love me, too?” He asked in my ear. The growl in his tone had completely vanished and now he just sounded scared.

“Yes.” I replied simply. He held me tightly to him for a long moment. “Now go get cleaned up, you’ve got some serious cuddling to do.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, sweet Jaysus, that felt good to write. I'm glad Bear got that out of his system, but Sunny is the one that will be feeling it tomorrow. ;) Stay tuned for more sexy fun coming up soon, my lovelies! XOXO -ELH


	44. Bruises

Barry spent the night at my place. We didn’t talk any more about how we felt. We couldn’t because my throat was absolutely shot. But we said all we needed to in the way we wound around each other after we had taken showers and got into my bed. Barry had been okay with just sleeping in his underwear beside me, until I got up and pulled his pajamas out of the top drawer of my dresser.

They were the ones he’d lent me after we’d made love. I had gone home in them that night and never given them back. Red plaid bottoms and a black Beatles t-shirt. He put them on and got in bed beside me without saying anything about it, but he held me close and kissed me deeply before we’d fallen asleep in each other’s arms.

In the morning, we both woke up sore. We each had severe carpet burn on our knees and I had it on my elbows as well. My wrists were ringed with faint bruises from the way I’d strained against Barry’s scarf. He kissed each of my injuries and told me I was a trooper, which made me elbow him in the ribs.

Neither of us had any plans, so Barry suggested that I grab some clothes for the next day and spend Sunday with him and Dan. I agreed silently and we were there an hour and a half later.

I settled myself on the couch to watch some TV while Barry changed his clothes to go pick up some food for the three of us. Dan came out of his room while I was alone. I looked up at him fondly. He had clearly just woken up, his hair was a disaster and he smiled at me with sleepy eyes.

“Hey, Sunny-girl,” He said in a thick voice. I waved, returning his smile. His awareness was peaked. Maybe it was because I didn’t return his greeting with my usual “Hi, Danny” or maybe it was the ginger way I was holding my body as I sat in his living room, but he was in front of me almost instantaneously. His gentle fingers delicately lifted my bruised wrists, touched the swollen part of my neck that was just under my jaw. I tried to grab his hand reassuringly, but his eyes caught the patches of torn skin at my elbow. He pushed up one leg of my sweatpants and inspected my knee.

“Jesus Christ,” he said under his breath. I could see him getting angry. I tried to hedge him off, tell him it was okay but no sound came out of my mouth. Barry, unfortunately, came back out of his room at that moment. Dan stood and faced him with clenched fists. He face turned scarlet and his voice was in the realm of scary danger-calm. “What did you do to her?”

Barry hesitated, his face also flushing. “Oh, uh, things got a little rough last night.”

“She looks like she got scraped down the side of a highway. And why isn’t she talking?”

Barry looked guiltily down at his shoes. I actually did catch hold of Dan’s hand this time and pulled him back down till his eyes were on a level with mine.

“Danny, it’s okay. I enjoyed myself.” I managed in a voice that was even more hoarse than when I’d been sick.

His face softened as he looked at me. He turned back to Barry. “Sorry, man.”

“It’s cool. I would’ve probably reacted the same way.” Barry said, still looking a little uncomfortable. “I’m going to grab us some lunch. I’ll be back in a bit.”

He left and Dan sat right up beside me on the couch. I snuggled into him immediately.

“Did you have a good time during the date part of the night?” He asked, kissing the top of my head. I nodded. “I was going to surprise you and take you out for our date tonight, but I think I’ll wait a week and let you recover.” I nodded again. He smoothed my hair and leaned his head against mine.

I pulled my phone out of my pocket and typed in the notepad app while he watched. “Do you have something fun planned?”

He cracked a huge grin. “Oh, you have no idea.”

  


It took me three full days to get my voice back. Somehow, unsurprisingly, the story of Barry’s date night with me had circulated through the Grumps. Every time I had to write something down instead of say it, whoever I was talking to had to fight to suppress a grin or chuckle. Save for Barry and Dan, of course.

It seemed as though Dan couldn’t wait a full week for his turn to take me out. Friday rolled around and Dan had bounced into the Grump Space like there were springs attached to his feet.

“Tonight’s the night, Sunny-girl.” He said enthusiastically, spinning me in my chair and leaning over me with his hands on the arm rests. “Are you excited?”

I smiled at him. “Of course, I am. You promised me a good time and I expect you to deliver.” I said and gave him a wink.

His face was radiant. “You just wait, you’re gonna love it.” He propelled himself away as I watched and tried not to laugh. My eyes met Suzy’s across the room and her face was as amused as mine.

Ever since Barry, Dan and I had eliminated the secrets between us, the lift in atmosphere had transferred into the office. Everyone was more relaxed, happier. Even Ross, whose black eye had faded into an ugly yellow tinge, kept his advice to himself and was generally more pleasant to be around. It was nice. I felt like things in my life were starting to reach an equilibrium.

And after my date tonight with Dan, I felt that any questions that remained about what to do now would be answered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 4/14 Update- Hey lovelies, just wanted to let you guys know that there's not gonna be a new chapter up for a day or two. I'm trying to write the Dan chapters and the finale in one big clump. I hope you guys can be patient with me because I really want them to be good.   
> Some of you have asked if I plan on writing more Grumps fics or one-shots after LotL is over. My response is that I don't know. I have a couple different writing projects I want to work on after taking a small break. Only one of those projects is Grumps related. I guess we'll just have to see. I love you all. Thanks for all the support so far, I hope you enjoy the new chapters when they go up. <3 -XOXO ELH


	45. Sing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WELP, tonight's the night, my lovelies. There's only one more chapter after this one and then the finale. AND IT'S ALL GOING UP TONIGHT!  
> Will it be Dan? Will it be Barry? You'll know in just a few short hours! The next chapter is probably going to be up by 9:30-10 EST, and the finale will be up by midnight! I hope you guys are just as excited as I am for the conclusion of Love on the Line. I've had such an awesome time writing it. You guys have been SO amazing with your support and words cannot express how grateful I am!  
> Let me know in the comments if you want an epilogue chapter or something in the future. Or if you want me to link you guys to the Game Grumpy motivational writing posters I used for my wallpapers as I wrote this fic! (Spoiler Alert: They're just Game Grumps pics that I love with added filters and text!) I love you so SO much! Keep being awesome! XOXO -ELH

About an hour before work was over, I started to get that anticipatory knot in my stomach that usually preceded spending time alone with Barry or Dan. I really was excited, of course, but for some reason I felt that tonight would be the night of my ultimate decision. And naturally, my first inclination was to postpone it, at least a little.

“Hey, Danny?” I asked, approaching him where he sat on the couch, doing something on his laptop. He looked up at me, smiling brilliantly. “Uh, do I need to go home after work to… change? For our date?”

Dan looked at my clothes. I was wearing jeans, a purple Steam Train shirt and black converse. His eyes returned to my face, shining with a secret kind of amusement. “No, casual is good.” He said, lightly. “I mean, you could be wearing shoes with more traction, but those will do fine.”

I stared at him in bewilderment. “My shoes? What kind of date is this going to be anyhow?”

His devious grin was in place. “Don’t worry so much, babygirl. We’re gonna have fun.”

  


Dan and Barry had driven to work together, so after work Dan and I got into my car. Like Barry, Dan insisted on being behind the wheel for the night. He popped a CD into my stereo before we even left the curb. I recognized it immediately as his favorite band of all time, Rush. I smiled as he sang along to all the songs. We drove for all of five minutes before we pulled into a mildly shabby diner.

“We’re eating here?” I asked as I appraised the place.

Dan’s perpetual grin still stretched across his face. “Dinner is not the main event of the evening. I just want to make sure you eat before we go where I really want to take you.”

“Whatever you say, Danny-boy.” I said, returning his playful manner. He smiled even wider at the way I’d made a play on his nickname for me.

We went inside. As was obvious from the outside, the diner was very understated, but the food was pretty good. Dan and I traded life stories back and forth, and laughed and joked as we usually did. After we ate, Dan checked the time and bustled me back out to the car.

“Where are we going now?” I pressed, curiosity burning.

“A bar.” He replied simply.

I raised my eyebrows. “A bar? Are you trying to get me drunk?”

He laughed. “Maybe. But that’s not why I’m taking you to this place. It’s not JUST a bar.”

We drove about fifteen more minutes, while I pondered. Dan was singing again when we pulled up to the joint. I saw the sign and the facade of the cozy-looking brick building. It was a piano bar. Dan came around the car and opened my door for me, he held my hand as I got out and looked into my face.

“My friend and his band are playing here tonight. Is this okay?” He asked, looking mildly worried at my lack of expression.

I reached up on tip-toe and planted a small kiss right on his dimpled chin. “You’re too good. It’s almost not fair.”

His whole attitude brightened. He slung a hand around my waist and walked me inside.

The place was packed. Dan guided me through the throng of people and up to the bar. Between the band playing a rendition of Supertramp’s “Take the Long Way Home” and the chatter of the patrons, it was fairly loud. Dan guided me toward the bar and ordered drinks. When the bartender had prepared them, Dan had leaned over and said something to him that I didn’t quite catch. The bartender pointed to a tiny reserved table with a great view of the band and we walked over.

Dan pulled the chairs together on one side and we sat so close that our legs were touching. He draped his arm over my shoulders as we relaxed and listened to the music. It was mostly 70’s and 80’s covers, which I knew Dan loved.

“So, how do you like it here?” He asked in my ear.

I snuggled closer to him. “I love it. It’s really nice.”

It was, too. Low lighting, wood paneling, and leather seats all contributed to a rather intimate feel in the place.

“I have a couple more surprises for you.” He said as his hair tickled my neck.

I pressed my lips together. “Do you?”

Just then, the lead singer of the group announced that they’d have a guest singer on a few songs. I immediately turned my eyes to Dan, who was grinning.

“Excuse me, babe.” He chuckled, and rose to his feet.

He joined the band as the lead singer listed Dan’s accolades. He high-fived the bassist, whom I assumed was his friend, as the bar applauded him politely.

They jumped right in to “Sister Christian” by Night Ranger, and followed up with “Come on Eileen” by Dexys Midnight Runners. I could feel my chest swelling with pride. Dan sounded wonderful, as usual, but to me it was even better than normal because I had a feeling he was doing it just for me.

Once the song was over, Dan took a breath and stepped right up to the microphone. He gave me a fleeting smile as the opening chords for “Is this Love?” by Whitesnake started up. I flushed deeply, my mind going back to Dan and I dancing together at the NSP party.

He kept his eyes closed for a good deal of the song, but when they opened, they immediately trained on me. Suddenly, I had to fight the impulse to cry. The tale-tell prickling had started in the corner of my eyes and I had to swallow several times. As the music ended, the lead singer thanked Dan for singing and he made his way back to our table.

He sat back down and we finished our drinks. I wasn’t able to say anything for a while. Finally, Dan took my hand and squeezed it. 

“Come on, I’ve got one more thing to show you.”


	46. Awe

I was still quiet as we got back in my car and Dan started driving again. I was paying more attention to my hands in my lap than where we were going. I didn’t even notice that we had arrived at our destination, a few minutes later, until Dan leaned across the car and ran a long finger across my cheek. I shivered and turned to him.

“Come on, we’re here.” He said, in a warm but quiet voice.

I got out of the car and looked around, my jaw dropping. We were at the top of one of Los Angeles’ famed Hollywood Hills. A massive, white building with three bronzed-colored domes stood before me, lit up in the night, and beyond that the city lights practically glittered. Even with the huge building blocking most of the view, it was still breathtaking.

“This is the Griffith Observatory. You can get one of the most amazing views of the city from here.” Dan was beside me. He took my hand and walked me toward the domed structure. He was smiling at my awed expression. “It’s pretty deserted because it’s about to close for the night, but I wanted to be alone with you up here.”

There were a few people milling around, most of them headed back towards the parking lot.

“What’s inside the building?” I asked, finding my voice at last.

Dan reached for my hand again and squeezed gently. “A planetarium. And some exhibits about space and its exploration. We’ll have to come back another night and see that, I just wanted you to see the city tonight.”

We walked around the building to the lower East Terrace and stood beside a wall, looking out at L.A. and the way it shined. Dan stood behind me, his arms around me and I leaned against him as we shared the peace of the moment.

“Thank you, Danny.”

He kissed the top of my head. “You’re welcome, Sunny.”

  


When we got back to Dan’s house, Barry’s car was gone. Neither Dan and I were sure of where he might have gone or when he would be back. But Dan said he didn’t want to tempt fate by messaging him to ask.

We went into his room and he pulled me onto the bed. He kissed me tenderly as we laid across the mattress, and I wound around him like a vine on a tree. Our clothing was slowly stripped away until we were in nothing but our underwear.

“Babygirl,” Danny said as I tossed his jeans into the corner. “Come up here and sit on my face.”

I hadn’t been expecting that. It was something he had never done to me, and I’d never put the position into practice before. “What?”

“I love you. And I want every bit of you. Now come let me have a taste.”

My stomach swooped at his sweet words. I crawled over him after flinging away my panties.

“Uhm, how does this work?”

Dan chuckled softly. “Swing your leg over my chest. Keep your knees by my ears and back that sweet pussy right into my mouth.”

I was slick with excitement already. I did exactly as he told me, stomach swooping a second time as I dangled above him.

“Fuck yea. Scoot back a little.” He said and then buried his face into me as I did.

I gasped. The sensations at this angle were totally different. It was wetter as Dan spread moisture from his mouth and my sex down toward my clit, along my thighs and up the crack of my ass. Cooler, as whatever area that wasn’t being occupied by his hot mouth tingled in the air being blown by the chilly a/c. And more intense. Or maybe that was just the way Dan’s tongue kept up a relentless, hard flickering and his teeth grazed another every sensitive area I’d exposed to him.

“Oh. My. God.” I groaned as his mouth moved in a constant, maddening rhythm.

He left me wanting for only a fraction of a second as he said, “You like that?” before continuing his gentle assault on my genitals.

“Yes,” I panted, the inside of my thighs beginning to vibrate. I rocked into him, my orgasm so close. So very close. “Almost. There.”

This seemed to spur him on. He bit, licked, sucked at my clit. Slurped and made satisfied eating sounds as he collected the gathering juices in between jamming his tongue as deeply as he could inside me; fucking me with his mouth. I ground my pussy down and came all over his face.

I fell in a shivering heap beside him on the bed, and Dan sat up, only to bend over and leave a trail of damp kisses along my abdomen.

“Mhm, you taste like heaven.” He murmured against my skin.

I closed my eyes, breathing hard. “You’re trying to kill me.” I accused.

He chuckled again. “Why would I try to kill the woman I love?”

“Because you’re a psychopath.” I said sarcastically and then pulled him up to kiss me. A minute later, I broke away and whispered, “I love you, too, Danny.”

He looked down at me, analyzing my face. “But you love Barry, too. Right?”

I nodded and thought for a long moment. “So do you, though. You wouldn’t have been willing to share me long enough for me to figure out how I felt if you didn’t.”

His face turned serious as he considered my words. “You’re right.”

I gave him a small smile. “I know I am.”

“Don’t get sassy with me.” He said, rolling his eyes and pulled me into his lap. “So, what now?”

My smiled widened a little. “You know, I’ve been asking myself that question for a few weeks now and I think I finally have an answer.” I wrapped my arms around his neck and pressed my lips to his.

We heard the front door bang closed and we both froze, mid-kiss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Only the finale left now! What will Sunny doooo?


	47. Finale

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And now, the conclusion of Love on the Line.

We could hear Barry moving through the living room and into the hall.

“Smells like sex in here.” He called. We heard him open the door to his bedroom and throw something onto his bed.

Dan looked at me, his dark eyes watching for my reaction. “I think now is the time for that answer, babygirl.”

One of my hands went into his hair at the back of his neck and the other slid to rest against his face. “You said you’d be okay with any decision I make, right?”

He nodded rigidly. “Whatever makes you happy, Sunny.”

I kissed him briefly and then took a deep breath. “Barry, could you come in here?” I called through the closed door and got up to slip my panties back on.

I could hear him put his hand on the doorknob and hesitate. “Right now?”

“Yea.” I confirmed. I swallowed and gathered my courage. Dan’s eyes still watched me as I settled myself on the edge of the bed. Dan moved to sit beside me.

Barry opened the door with a wary expression. His eyes found me and Dan. Those same eyes widened as they took us in, sitting there side-by-side, in only our underwear. Then Barry’s whole face went blank except for the tightening of his jaw.

“Can I help you?” He asked through clenched teeth.

God, I hope this went the way I hoped.

“Yes, actually. You and Dan are pretty fantastic at giving me great orgasms. I wanna know what one would be like if you both tried at the same time.”

Barry’s jaw dropped open a little while I felt Dan tensing beside me.

“You want a threesome?” Barry asked, his face growing confused. I tried to smile, but inside I was terrified that it was all going to go wrong.

“Can you blame me? I’m in love with you both. And you both love me and each other. Sounds like a good time to me.”

There was a long stretch of silence. I felt so exposed. Vulnerable. This was make or break, I could feel it.

Dan came to my aide. “I bet both of us together COULD do a better job of making her scream than what you did alone the other day, Bear.”

Barry’s eyes shifted from me to Dan, still looking befuddled. ‘One down, one to go’ was all I could think as my anxiety mounted.

Barry turned and walked out of the room.

I felt my heart sink so low I thought it might be somewhere in the region of the Earth’s core. This is what I get for being selfish. You can’t have your cake and eat it too. Isn’t that what they say? I sucked in a huge breath ready to bawl my eyes out.

But then Barry reappeared. He had a bottle of lube in hand, which he tossed to Dan. Then he looked at me, his blue-green eyes shining. “Tell me I get a kiss first.” He said and his bearded face split into a grin.

I was off the bed and into his arms faster than you can say ‘hot sex’.

I kissed him enthusiastically, hastily wiping away the tears that had already started. He lifted me off the ground as he held me, and when we broke apart we both started laughing. We turned to look at Dan who was grinning too.

“So how do you wanna do this, baby?” Barry asked, tucking a loose lock of hair behind my ear.

I swallowed. “Well, Dan and I have already dabbled in anal. So, I guess he can be a bottom. We can all figure out what I am, so guess what that makes you?”

“A very lucky man.” Barry responded with wink.

“Unless you guys wanna quip back and forth all day, I think we all need to be naked for this.” Dan said, raising his scarred eyebrow.

“Who is quipping now?” I asked sarcastically, reaching back to unclasp my bra. It took less than a minute before we were all bare. Dan crawled over the bed and settled himself on his back near the headboard.

“Get over here. Both of you.” He said, and the devious smile I’d come to love was plastered on his handsome face. Barry and I both knelt on the bed on either side of Dan’s hips. Dan’s dark eyes met Barry’s light ones. “Lube me up. Make it nice and wet for her.”

The side of Barry’s mouth quirked up. He reached over and snatched the lube bottle off the far side of the mattress. I expected him to click the top open and squeeze some onto his hand, but at the last moment he spit into his palm and started to work his way down Dan’s shaft. Dan groaned. “Ah, fuck. I didn’t think you’d remember.”

I watched in fascination as Barry did add lube, but only after he’d worked up a good friction that left Dan arching at his touch. With Dan’s especially slippery cock in hand, Barry proceeded to use a squeezing, twisting grip that was harder than I’d ever dared to use on a man. But hey, who knew better about how much pressure to use than another guy?

Barry snatched his hand away with a smirk a moment later. Dan was breathing heavily with closed eyes. Barry lifted up from sitting back on his heels and looked at me. “Lean over Dan and put your mouth on me, baby.” He said in my favorite husky growl.

I put my hands into the mattress on the other side of Dan’s hips. Dan’s slick erection tickled my right nipple as I swirled my tongue around the head of Barry’s dick before pulling it in with my lips. His fingers entwined themselves in my hair and for a moment I hesitated, afraid for the health of my throat if we had a repeat of last week. As always, Dan picked up on my thoughts effortlessly.

“Not too deep, Bear. I want her voice intact for every scream and moan.”

Barry minded his roommate’s advice and kept his thrusts shallow as I worked him over. Dan’s hand glided between my thighs and slipped two fingers directly into my already dripping sex. He pumped with an agonizing slowness. By the time I started to grind back into his hand, he removed it and pushed my hips back so that Barry popped free of my mouth.

“Alright, babygirl, straddle me. Take me all in one stroke.” Dan commanded in a voice that sounded less than controlled.

I rose to my knees and swung one leg over to the other side of Dan’s waist while Barry crawled around to settle himself between Dan’s knees. I reached between my own legs to guide Dan’s cock to the entrance of my pussy. I hovered there for a moment, and froze as I felt Barry’s finger traced down the crack of my ass and spread my cheeks. He smeared the cool lube around the puckered ring of muscles there and pushed a finger in. Just as I shuddered, Dan ran out of patience and bucked upward, slamming his rock hard appendage into me until our pelvises ground together. A long moan slipped from my lips.

He lowered us both back down to the mattress and I started to move on him slowly. Barry worked his finger and then added a second. It felt so good that if Dan hadn’t already gotten me off once, I would have been done for.

Barry pulled his hand away and put the other on the small of my back. He coated his cock in lube and worked it in twisting pulls. I felt his tongue lick a hot line up my spine. “Bend over and be still for a moment, Sunny.” He rumbled. I stopped moving, hands clutching at Dan’s chest as I bent over him.

“She’s only done this once, Bear. Be careful with her.” Dan said, seriously. Barry positioned the head of his dick into my ass and drove straight in.

I whimpered loudly, fingernails digging into Dan’s skin. “Fuck! Ow, ow, ow!” 

Dan leaned his face closer to mine, he kissed my forehead. “Shh, Sunny, you’re okay. We’ve done this before, just try to relax.” I didn’t move. “Come on, babygirl, just let your body adjust to us.”

Barry’s voice sounded gruff and yet strained. “When you’re ready, push down on Dan and I’ll pull out.”

It felt like my brain had shut down. All I wanted to do was stop. My eyes were squeezed shut so tight, I thought I might burst the blood vessels in my eyelids.

Dan’s voice filtered into my head again. “Sunny, are you okay? What do you need?”

I still didn’t speak. Barry pulled back so that only the head of his cock remained within me. That helped and my brain clicked back on. One more time, I needed a distraction.

“S-someone touch my clit,” I managed to choke out. Dan’s long fingers were on me in a flash, drawing little circles around the bundle of nerves. My mind clicked a little faster. “Back and forth. Use your middle finger. Oh, that feels good.” I relaxed by the tiniest amount.

Dan voice sounded as tense as my body. “Barry, take over. I’ve got an idea.”

“I can only reach her if I push all the way back in,” Barry responded, sounding unsure.

“Do it.” Dan commanded.

Barry did and I lost my minimal relaxation for a moment until his hand replaced his roommate’s.

Dan hands ran over the tops of my thighs and up to my hips. “Lean closer, babygirl. Let me put my mouth on those delicious tits.”

I shifted a little and Dan latched on, suckling at a nipple for a moment before nipping it lightly. He switched to the other breast and repeated his actions. Then back to the other, adding a gentle lick after the bite. Then he switched again and again; nuzzling, kissing, rubbing his thick thumbs across whichever one wasn’t in his mouth.

With his attention laser focused on my chest, and Barry’s on my clit, I was soon releasing tiny moans and groans. My body softened under their patient touches. The burning pain from the fullness inside me lessened dramatically. Before I knew it, I was wiggling my hips down on Dan’s cock, eager for even more pleasure.

“You ready for more?” Barry growled in my ear and I nodded. I pressed down as much as possible on Dan as Barry pulled back. Dan’s hands transferred back to my hips to assist, he lifted me as Barry drove back in slowly. Their dicks brushed against each other through the thin tissue separating them within me. I groaned and arched at the sensation.

The three of us began to move in a slow, steady rhythm. Dan resumed a gentle lapping at my nipples as they swung past his mouth. His and Barry’s fingers were layered over each other on my hips. The pace picked up a little. The plunge and retreat between the two of them was building the almighty wall of my climax inside me, and I knew it wouldn’t be long before it came down.

We started to move even faster, the thrusts were harder. The strokes of their two, hard cocks driving me closer and closer to the edge.

“I’m so close!” I whined.

Dan’s tongue brushed my lower lip. “Me too, babygirl.” He said then captured my mouth for a hungry kiss.

“So am I,” Barry grunted and I felt the pressure Dan’s hands had on top of his.

Barry slammed in hard, a low groan tearing from his chest as he came high in my ass. The extra deep thrust had triggered my own release, I bore down on Dan with all my remaining strength. He clenched his teeth and bucked inside my pussy as he, too, exploded.

The throb of both of them inside me caused another, shorter orgasm to rocket through me and I screamed.

In the haze of pure bliss, I slumped onto Dan’s chest. Barry pulled out and flumped down beside us. We were a collectively sweaty, panting mess. I let out a sated sigh and kissed Dan’s neck while my fingers twined around Barry’s.

These two men had stolen my heart. With their sweet kisses and devious smiles and warm gazes filled with admiration for me. One was not enough and I could not choose one over the other. I needed them both. I needed them like I needed air in my lungs.

When I had started work with the Game Grumps, I hadn’t known that the moment I signed that NDA in that sushi restaurant in Little Tokyo that I was putting my love on the line. I had been built up, smashed and built up again. But I knew deep within my soul that all I had ever wanted, everything I didn’t know I had been looking for were the two men I was lying in bed with right now.

“I love you,” I whispered into the silence.

“I love you, too,” replied Dan Avidan and Barry Kramer, at the exact same time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really hope you enjoyed the ending. I decided to go back and turn the sin up to 11 (out of a possible 5) and that's why it's an hour late. I'm sorry. But thank you, thank you, thank you once again for reading. I love you all SO much! Please let me know what you all think in the comments, and tell me whether you want an epilogue. This has been Love on the Line. ELH signing off. XOXO
> 
> For my fellow authors, here's the link to my GG writing motivational posters:  
> http://imgur.com/a/dxDzP


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